Trump orders removal of White House Peace Vigil tent after 44 years
WASHINGTON, DC: President Donald Trump on Friday, September 5, directed staff to dismantle the White House Peace Vigil, a protest camp that had stood in Lafayette Park for more than four decades.
The decision came after a reporter described the display to him during an Oval Office meeting, calling it both an “eyesore” for visitors and a symbol of the “radical left.”
Omg. A reporter just told Trump that there’s a blue tent out front of the White House used by radical leftists and Trump turned to the Secret Service and told them to get rid of it.
— johnny maga (@_johnnymaga) September 5, 2025
“TAKE IT DOWN! Today — right now! … Lafayette Park. Take it down!”
This is what I voted for. pic.twitter.com/bL26RmfMrn
Trump orders removal of decades-old peace vigil outside White House
“I didn’t know that. Take it down. Take it down today, right now,” Donald Trump responded, according to those present.
The president claimed the tent only came to his attention after Brian Glenn, chief White House reporter for Real America’s Voice, raised the issue.
The order brought an abrupt end to a protest recognized as the longest continuous act of political demonstration in US history, launched in 1981 as a call to abolish nuclear weapons.
The removal also aligned with Trump’s broader pledge to clear homeless encampments across Washington, DC, ahead of the nation’s 250th anniversary celebrations. In recent weeks, police and National Guard patrols had already cracked down on unhoused residents for sleeping outdoors.
Legacy of anti-nuclear protest
The vigil began in June 1981, when activist William Thomas erected a tent with handmade signs facing the North Lawn of the White House. For decades, the protest site stood as a fixture through seven administrations, carrying messages such as “Ban All Nuclear Weapons or Have a Nice Doomsday.”
Following Thomas’s death in 2016, longtime activist Philipos Melaku-Bello took over stewardship of the vigil, continuing its mission with volunteers who rotated to keep it active around the clock.
Sent this post to Trump on Truth Social a few weeks ago. Look at the video from today's discussion. That's the blue tent....
— BRYANTISM (@BRYANTIANITY) September 5, 2025
You're the best @realDonaldTrump @SpiritualSF_17 @DanScavino pic.twitter.com/wH7khtkO7n
The protest had at times divided political leaders. Del Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) credited the vigil with inspiring her repeated introduction of the Nuclear Weapons Abolition and Conversion Act, which called for redirecting defense funds toward climate, housing, and healthcare needs. She argued the vigil symbolized America’s potential to reclaim its moral leadership on the global stage.
Others, however, had called the site a nuisance. Rep Jeff Van Drew (R-NJ) pressed for its dismantling, warning of safety hazards and claiming the presence of the tent undermined the dignity of a historic public space.
“No group should be above the law,” Van Drew wrote in a letter to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum. “This isn’t about stopping protest. It’s about upholding the rule of law and preserving one of America’s most iconic public spaces, and ending a double standard that’s made a mockery of both.”
Debate over free speech rights
Supporters of the vigil argued that dismantling the tent infringed on First Amendment protections. Norton stressed the protest was both peaceful and lawful, and had endured for decades without presenting real danger.
“The First Amendment protects peaceful protests, even when they’re seen as unsightly or inconvenient,” Norton said. “The Peace Vigil had stood in front of the White House for more than 30 years, with its organizers engaged in principled activism at considerable personal cost. If Representative Van Drew’s claim of safety hazards were valid, it would have been removed long ago."
