A Charlottesville veteran chained himself to a metal post outside the White House Monday in protest of massive cuts to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
Richard Hobcraft Allan III, 80, wore a pipe on his arms reading “King Trump and Pres Musk are killing veterans.”
Allan told the New Republic that he and his fellow veterans will march on March 14 at noon all over the country to say: “Veterans will not stand for this any longer.”
“We believe that an unelected leader is killing our fellow veterans and something must be done. All over our country, people are standing up, making noise in the streets, and stating ‘we cannot go on as usual,’” Allan said.
Allan said he knows that some Americans wake up every morning and know that something is wrong. he referred to Trump and Musk as “domestic enemies.”
While Metropolitan Police officers responded to the scene, they chose to leave Allan attached to the post. Allan joked with one officer about bringing him a shot of bourbon.
“My intention had been to be here until I was broken out of here and arrested, and I was proud to face arrest in the name of my fellow veterans,” Allan said.
Allan referred to his small protest as an “appetizer” for the veterans’ march.
“We are the largest single, what’s called, an interest group in the country,” Allan told U.S. Park Police who stopped to ask what his intentions were in Washington, D.C. “And they’re slashing our budget by 50 percent.”
According to Allan, funding and staffing cuts at the VA will result in disabled and ill veterans ending up on the streets without care.
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Rebecca Barnabi
