Trump orders removal of longest continuous act of political protest in U.S. history, in Oval Office show of despotism

Trump ordered the removal of the White House Peace Vigil on Friday, marking an end to a 44-year protest against the nation’s nuclear weaponry and warfare.

A reporter informed the president of the ongoing protest — now manned by Philipos Melaku-Bello and a group of rotating volunteers — Friday in the Oval Office, describing the long-standing tent as an “eye sore” for visitors supported by the “radical left.”

“I didn’t know that. Take it down. Take it down today, right now,” Trump told staffers inside the White House.

However, the peace vigil in Lafayette Park stands out as a permanent stakeout for free speech and is widely known as the longest continuous act of political protest in U.S. history.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/trump-orders-takedown-of-longtime-protest-tent-at-white-house/ar-AA1LYUWI

Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton told the Post that protesters are well within their right to peacefully assemble outside of the White House on public property.

“The First Amendment protects peaceful protests, even when they’re seen as unsightly or inconvenient, and even when they occur in front of the White House,” Norton said in the statement.

“The Peace Vigil has stood in front of the White House for more than 30 years, with its organizers engaged in principled activism at considerable personal cost. If Representative Van Drew’s claim that the vigil creates public safety hazards were valid, it would have been removed long ago.”