We are requesting a public hearing about the actions of the Washington, DC Metropolitan Police Department during the 2019 siege of the Embassy of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. We are concerned that MPD officers violated international law by participating in actions to thwart and evict lawful protectors of the embassy. We are also concerned that these officers, paid by our tax dollars, violated their vow to protect and serve, when they stood by as we and other peaceful protestors were physically and verbally assaulted by violent and racist Venezuela opposition groups.

We would like the opportunity to testify about what we witnessed. We are vigilant, in an era of heightened right-wing extremist violence,  that our First Amendment right to peaceably assemble be respected and that extremist thugs—especially those from other countries—not be allowed to intimidate or assault DC residents or those who come to the nation’s capital to engage as public citizens. 

We are mindful of past unlawful actions by MPD against protesters, so as taxpayers who provide MPD ‘s budget, we demand answers about the role and orders given to MPD officers during the siege. We also demand to know the cost in dollars and other resources for an operation that made the District complicit in an unprecedented and dangerous violation of the sovereign space of another country. Months after the siege, peaceful protesters like Medea Benjamin of Code Pink and the journalist and author Max Blumenthal, both DC residents, have been arrested or detained by police on related false assault charges. 

Please protect the First Amendment in the nation's capital and provide a space for free speech and truth to be told in this matter.