Howard University Students Lead Protest Against National Guard in D.C.
Students at four of Washington, D.C.’s major universities staged walkouts Tuesday morning to protest the continued presence of National Guard troops in the nation’s capital, calling it a dangerous and unconstitutional overreach by the federal government.
According to the Washington Post, students from Georgetown University, Howard University, George Washington University, and American University left their classrooms at coordinated times throughout the day, beginning with Georgetown at 10 a.m. Howard students followed at 11 a.m., with GWU and AU walking out later in the afternoon.
The protests were organized by the Sunrise Movement, Free DC, and student leaders from all four schools. The organizations said the demonstrations were meant to call attention to what they described as a “federal takeover” of the District. They also warned that the ongoing deployment represents an unprecedented display of federal overreach that threatens the safety of students and their neighbors.
The demonstrations coincided with the final week of the federal government’s 30-day emergency order, which temporarily placed the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department under federal control. The order, aimed at curbing violent crime, has led to more than 2,000 arrests and a visible increase in the number of federal law enforcement and National Guard members in the city.
Washington Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal appeared at her alma mater, Georgetown’s walkout, signaling that the issue is drawing attention from progressive lawmakers.
For many students, the protests were about more than police control—they symbolized a fight for local autonomy and civil rights in a city where residents have long lacked full representation in Congress.
According to the Washington Post, the Howard students said their ancestors at the historically Black university led civil rights movements 60 years ago, and now they wanted to plan to stand their shoulders to do the same. They also encouraged Howard leaders to push for the school to become a sanctuary campus to save students from ICE raids.
