Protesters gathered outside of US Postmaster General Louis DeJoy’s home in Washington DC to give him a “wake up call” and object to his support for President Donald Trump, as well as recent changes made within the postal system.
Angry demonstrators marched to DeJoy’s DC condo on Saturday morning making plenty of noise and holding signs calling for universal mail-in voting in November’s presidential election. Some called for DeJoy to be “deposed” and for USPS to “deliver DeMail” — a play on the official’s name.
“DeJoy has fired or reassigned much of the existing USPS leadership and ordered the removal of mail sorting machines that are fundamental to the functioning of the postal service,” activist group Shut Down DC, which organized the protest, said in a statement. The group added that mail delivery is “slowing down under other decisions made by DeJoy” including eliminating overtime for postal workers.
Protesters are making their way to the Postmaster General’s house for what they call a “wake-up call” pic.twitter.com/swK0CEboPv
Full-blown protest on a Saturday morning outside Trump donor/Postmaster General Louis DeJoy’s DC condo! #SaveThePostOffice#nojoyfordejoypic.twitter.com/nE4G0OSJNB
This morning outside Louis DeJoy’s DC home.?: @CoryGunkelpic.twitter.com/LFbh8dZVnU
Protesters blew trumpets and banged pots — and at one point began stuffing fake absentee ballots into the lobby door to the building where DeJoy lives.
Protesters have stuffed fake absentee ballots into the Postmaster General’s apartment lobby door @wusa9pic.twitter.com/L5THngbLSv
Though many Democrats have called for universal mail-in voting in light of the current Covid-19 pandemic, the USPS has warned many states that there is not enough time or funding to prepare for such a major process in only a few months.
President Donald Trump has also ardently opposed mail-in voting, suggesting it creates a potential for mass fraud in the November election.
DeJoy’s personal financial support of Trump and other Republicans has come under particular scrutiny recently as the USPS has gone through key restructuring and a clampdown on overtime. The postal service sparked more anger this week after it gave conflicting reasons about why some official mailboxes had been disappearing from around Portland.
Some critics have even taken to tweeting out the names, numbers, and email addresses of the USPS’ Board of Governors, calling on people to inundate them with demands to fire DeJoy.
Here. Call the USPS board of Governors. Demand they fire DeJoy and fix the delivery issues. Here’s their phone numbers. Bury them with calls !! pic.twitter.com/11pNTiYDFQ
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-California) and Senator Chuck Schumer (D-New York) released a statement Friday blasting DeJoy for “operational changes” to the post office that they say “threaten to undermine our democracy.” The statement called on Trump to “cease his assault” on the USPS and allow the election to proceed “without his sabotage tactics.”
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