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The July 3ed Anniversary special Bike Party was perhaps the largest ever, but the August 12th ride may have been second only to that one for sheer size. DC never seemed to get big Critical Mass or other such rides in the past, now the organizers of the DC Bike Parties seem to have found the magic formula for turn out in this town.

Video highlights 1st half of the ride(2:40)

The 8th of August was the day before the 1 year anniversary of the murder of Michael Brown by cops in Fergerson, MO, It was also the day DC police (MPD) killed an African-American woman right here in DC. That night StopCopTerrorDC shut down streets from U st to I-395 to protest the continuing wave of police crime, violence, and outright murder of Black and Brown people throughout the US.

Video highlights of the march

On the 4th of August, Code Pink set up on the H st side of Lafayette Park with hula hoops and signs supporting the proposed nuclear agreement with Iran. The GOP and politicians funded by AIPAC are doing everything they can to kill this deal on Capitol Hill. It is possible that gas fracking and shale oil interests would also fund efforts to kill the deal, as the lifting of sactions on Iran could cause crude oil and gas prices to plunge. That could make fracking and tar sands unprofitable for years to come.

Video-Code Pink hula-hoops plus explanation of effect of Iran nuclear deal on fracking/tar sands

On the 28th of July, the Light Brigade deployed lighted letters at the US Supreme Court and US Capitol to remember Sandra Bland. Police in Texas arrested Sandra and held her in jail for defying an illegal order from a cop at a traffic stop to put out her cigarette-in her own car. Three days later she was found dead in her cell with a noose around her neck. Some say she was lynched, certainly hanging is the very symbol of lynching. Sandra's mother has said "this means war" at her daughter's funeral. Her family and friends say there is no way she would have killed herself.

Video-Light Brigade sings in memory of Sandra Bland

by George Joseph, Intercept
In response to The Intercept’s FOIA request, for example, last month the DHS’s Office of Operations Coordination released over 40 pages of documents (archive 1, archive 2) detailing live updates and Google Maps images of Black Lives Matter protestors’ movements during an April 29^th protest in Washington, DC.

An April 29th email from the DHS National Operations Center also mentions planned surveillance of three seemingly innocuous events, two of which were associated with historically black neighborhoods. According to the email, the DHS-funded DC Homeland Security & Emergency Management Agency decided to conduct “a limited stand-up… to monitor a larger than expected Funk Parade and two other mass gathering events” in case “any Baltimore-related civil unrest occurs.” It appears that the only Funk Parade in DC occurs in the historically black neighborhood of U Street. The other two events, according to another report, produced by the DHS National Capital Region‘s Information Collection and Coordination Center, were a community parade in Congress Heights, a predominantly black neighborhood, and the Avon 39-Walk to End Breast Cancer. Full article

On the 21st of June, Apache Stronghold marched into DC for a series of events demanding that a copper mine planned for Oak Flats be cancelled. This two-day series of events began with a sacred run from the north ariving down 16th Street at the White House. There they joined a second contingent of Apache and supporters waiting for them, held a rally at the White House and marched to the US Capitol to hold traditional ceremonies there. Apache Stronghold is here to support HR-2811, the Save Oak Flat Act, which would undo permission given to Resolution Mining LLC and Rio Tinto to mine copper on Apache land given to them in by Sen John McCain and reps Representatives Kirkpatrick and Gosar of Arizona.

Video of the sacred run, clip of the march, and scene from the US Capitol (1 min 30 sec)

On the 13th of June, protesters showed up outside the Washington Convention Center opposing the "Christians United For Israel" (CUFI) convention being held inside. Christians, Jews, and Muslims alike called out current Israeli occupation policies for violating the philosophies expoused by Jesus, thus calling the convention one of hypocrisy. One of the current positions espoused by CUFI (along with AIPAC) is opposition to any nuclear deal with Iran, as they advocate war against Iran instead.Some "Christian Zionists" believe that the Jews must hold Jerusalem to enable the Rapture, an event associated in the Bible with Armageddon and among other things the loss of the entire Jewish population in Jerusalem. Thus war with Iran would fit their agenda.

Video of the protest (1 min)

On the 10th of July, there were al-Quds (Jerusalem) day rallies all over the world demanding an end to the occupation of Jerusalem by Israel and exclusion of most of the Muslim world from their own sacred places there. One of these rallies was held in Dupont Circle, which like Jerusalem is stolen land.

On the 7th of July, Occupy DC supporters gathered in Freedom Plaza to remember Kyle (Wild Child), Charlie Microphone, and Bill Miniutti, all of whom died recently. After several hours of storytelling and remembering old days with them,everyone marched from Freedom Plaza to McPherson Square. This was from one former Occupy DC campsite to the other, in the streets just like the way Occupy used to march during those intense months of 2011-2012.

Video-Occupy DC marches from Freedom Plaza to McPherson Square(1 min 47 sec)