Video is the light projection on the former Newseum calling out Trump
and the GOP, and a still preroll of the cops who hassled them
Washington DC—What was supposed to be a brief light projection onto a
building turned into a lesson in First Amendment rights for DC Police on
Wednesday night. While activists projected a series of slides onto the
side of John Hopkins University at 5th & Pennsylvania, a security
guard from the site approached them requesting they stop the projection.
The activists declined the guard’s request, saying it was within their
rights to project light from a public space—in this case, from the
median of Pennsylvania Avenue.
…
About an half hour later police officers arrived and asked the activists
to end their show. Police cited DC code they claimed the activists were
going against. The activists requested to see the code and police
shared it with them from their vehicle screen. The DC code details what
constitutes “defacement” of a building. It was this law that the police
officer was referring to as grounds to stop the projection.
Marcos was the acting police liaison and calmly interacted with the
police officer. He read back to him the DC code. He pointed out that
nowhere did it mention that light projection from a public space was
illegal. The light was not ‘defacing’ the building because it was not
damaging the building.
dcmediagroup(dot)us/2026/08/10/light-projection-activists-school-dc-police-on-first-amendment-rights/