Donald Trump has taken over Washington D.C., but the city’s residents are fighting back with two simple words ‘Free DC!’

President Donald Trump’s series of interventions in Washington D.C. has led to a unified local resistance under the banner of “Free DC.” This slogan, which has historical roots in the city’s long struggle for self-governance, has been adopted by a new activist group formed this year. The group’s mission is to counter the president’s attempts to interfere in the capital’s affairs, which they argue is a threat not only to D.C. residents but to American democracy as a whole.

Keya Chatterjee, the executive director of Free DC, emphasizes that the capital’s unique vulnerability makes the fight for its rights a matter of national and even global significance. Per The Guardian, she stated, “You have to be able to have dissent in the capital in order to curb authoritarianism. You have to be able to do that and because we are uniquely vulnerable, it is a danger to everyone in this country, and therefore everyone in the world, that we don’t have equal rights under the law.”

With a population of over 700,000, which surpasses that of both Vermont and Wyoming, Washington D.C. lacks voting representation in Congress. This status as a federal district allows Congress to override policies approved by the city’s voters or its council. While past presidents have occasionally become involved in D.C. politics, Trump has been unprecedented in his targeting of the city, citing crime rates that are, in fact, at 30-year lows. He has threatened similar interventions in Chicago and New Orleans, but not in cities in Republican-led states that have higher rates of violence.

DC has had enough of Trump’s authoritarian rule

The formation of the Free DC group was a direct response to Trump’s campaign promises to “take over” the city. Co-founded by Alex Dodds, the group’s campaign director, and three others, Free DC emerged from conversations among various community organizations, including those focused on housing, unhoused neighbor support, and immigrant support, that recognized the need for a new campaign to address the expected federal interventions.

Trump has tried to stop people from pointing out that he’s not actually helping anyone. He even launched a probe to counteract anyone claiming that D.C. is safer than he claimed.

Since its inception in January, Free DC has actively worked to mobilize residents. Chatterjee reports that the group has trained approximately 5,000 people across the city’s eight wards. Their workshops cover topics such as jury service and how to safely record interactions with federal agents like those from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The organization is financially supported by Community Change, a progressive organizing group, with individual donors contributing up to a quarter of its budget and the remainder coming from foundations.

Trump’s foray into policing the city has energized support for the movement. The “Free DC” slogan has become a rallying cry, appearing on flyers throughout the city and being chanted at a Washington Spirit women’s soccer game and at a restaurant where the president was dining. A recent protest march, co-hosted by Free DC and other groups, was the largest demonstration against Trump’s meddling to date. At the march, a black-clad waitress from a local restaurant stood on a chair and shouted, “Free DC.” As Rabbi Koach Baruch Frazier, a Free DC volunteer, put it, “He is throwing everything at us, and we are throwing it back.”