Education Secretary Betsy DeVos was invited to a meeting at Jefferson Middle School Academy Friday morning by the Washington, D.C. teacher’s union. However, when she arrived for the meeting, a handful of protesters took up positions on a narrow stairway and blocked her path. Video of the incident was captured by WJLA reporter Sam Sweeney:
Sec. DeVos physically blocked by protesters from entering DC school–turned away and left. Unclear if she attempted another door. @ABC7News pic.twitter.com/buNgmOJbya
— Sam Sweeney (@SweeneyABC) February 10, 2017
As DeVos turned away from the blocked stairway, a man holding a Black Lives Matter sign ran after her saying, “Keep giving money to Senators and buying your way to the position, you should be so proud of yourself.” DeVos got back in her car as the same man yelled, “Go back!” and then “Shame! Shame! Shame!” As the car tried to pull away, the man ran in front and prevented it from moving. At this point the video cuts off, but the Washington Post reports that DeVos persisted and eventually made it inside for her 10am meeting.
Earlier, Sweeney reported that protesters had blocked an advance vehicle from entering the school by standing in a driveway:
Protesters not allowing Betsy DeVos' advance team near SW DC school where she's expected to visit pic.twitter.com/dC6m2IGbCc
— Sam Sweeney (@SweeneyABC) February 10, 2017
Eventually, D.C. police had to physically move the protesters out of the way to give the vehicle space to enter.
Protesters clash with police and Sec. DeVos security detail ahead of school visit. @ABC7News pic.twitter.com/TKIzq8xwMt
— Sam Sweeney (@SweeneyABC) February 10, 2017
Note that at the beginning of this clip one of the protesters has apparently stuck his foot near the front wheel and is claiming he is being run over. You can’t actually see his foot in this clip but it’s worth noting that police observing say his foot was never under the wheel. Also, similar claims were made during Occupy Wall Street protests in 2011, most famously when a National Lawyers Guild attorney claimed he was run over by a police motor scooter. The man fell on the ground and howled in pain. However, witnesses including news photographers said he faked the incident. A Daily News photographer said, “I saw him sticking his legs under the bike to make it appear he was run over.” The man’s own attorney later claimed the scooter had run over his shoelace.
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