HAGERSTOWN, Md. – For yet another week, activists and community members lined the sidewalk just steps outside the Washington County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday morning, April 14.
Typically, these events begin at 9 a.m., but organizers had more planned this Tuesday morning. Protestors began to show up on Washington Street — chalk in hand — around 7 that morning. Using cardboard cut outs, and the bodies of volunteers, demonstrators used chalk to outline 47 bodies, symbolizing those who have passed away in ICE custody since the Trump administration began.
These weekly protests began now months ago in response to the projected DHS detention center, located at a warehouse on Wright Road in Williamsport. Tensions have long increased between these political action groups and the Board of Commissioners since they voted to facilitate the detention center back in February.
This week, the topic of protests, while still focusing on the detention facility, questioned an agenda topic regarding an over $100,000 purchase of riot gear for the police and sheriff’s offices. This revelation came just days after massive No Kings protests across the country, with Hagerstown drawing a record 2,000-3,000 demonstrators to the square.
One protestor shared, “We were just a little suspicious how they were sneaking that in, and why do they need so much equipment?”
It’s on record that the county purchased riot equipment in 2015 following the riots in Baltimore. Despite the county’s claim that this new purchase seeks to update existing equipment, these protestors remain skeptical of the intentions behind this purchase.
A court hearing in Baltimore on Wednesday, April 15, established a preliminary injunction, further prohibiting renovations to the warehouse until further notice.
