D.C. Protest

I had the opportuniy to shoot my first large Peace March and Rally in the Capitol on Sept. 15. I've shot rallies and protests before, but not this large. It went pretty well for the most part, but was also crazy at times. The march itself was highly unorganized and several of the organizers and volunteers were very hostile towards members of the press, which made coverage difficult at times. An estimated 100,000 anti-war protestors took part in the march.



It was supposed to be a peaceful march, with some civil disobedience. Meaning several protestors jumped over police barricades in front of the U.S. Capitol and were arrested. Around 200 people were arrested.




Then, of course, towards the end, things got slightly out of hand. The group of protestors closest to the barricades in the front, with me in the middle of them, decided to make one last push to break through the barricades and that's when some of the Capitol Police pulled out the pepper spray. Trust me, being sprayed doesn't feel very good when you happen to take a deep breath just as a blast of pepper spray comes your direction.


Alas, all in all, I would have to say it was a fun day. ;)