D.C. City Councilmember on Nat’l Guard Presence: People Should Be Able to Go Out to Restaurants, Not Feel as ‘Prisoners in Their Own City’

SHARPTON: “But finally, I want to ask you about the economic impact of this crackdown. Residents have noted nightlife areas and the Metro seem empty at night. Restaurant reservations have fallen nearly a third since this time last year. What could be the long-term impact if this crackdown continues indefinitely, as the president has hinted it might?”
HENDERSON: “Well, you have to remember, Reverend, this is on top of the thousands of individuals who have been fired by the federal government. So D.C. was already being hit economically in terms of the number of layoffs that were happening, individuals not having the same type of disposable income that they did before in order to go out. And now it is, again, this heightened anxiety. A lot of the federal agents, they are detaining first and asking questions later. And I know for a lot of district residents, they just don’t want to deal with that, so they’re choosing to stay home. But I’m wondering and I’m worried about the sustainability of this. This is our city. I don’t want to hide in my home. I want to be able to go out to my restaurants. I want for folks to be able to go out to concerts and enjoy sporting events and enjoy the nightlife here, as well as for our young people to feel as though this is their home, this is their city to explore, and not to feel as though they are prisoners in their own city. And so I’m hopeful that this will only last for 30 days, and so that the Congress will not extend or vote to extend this emergency even longer. Because in my view, and in the view of many district residents, this is not a national emergency. This is not a public emergency that is needing troops from six different states to be deployed to the district, as well as over 500 federal agents who are deployed each and every night across the city.”