Clergy gather in DC to pray and protest federal law enforcement surge

On Thursday, members of D.C.’s faith community gathered on Freedom Plaza, just steps from the White House and the Wilson Building, to both pray and protest the federal law enforcement surge in the nation’s capital.

The gathering comes amid a growing national debate over federal intervention in local policing in D.C.

“We’ve gathered together today, God, to come against legislation and policies that would impose itself on the rights of the citizens of the District of Columbia,” said the Rev. Keith William Byrd Sr., pastor of the historic Zion Baptist Church in Northwest D.C.

One by one, faith leaders stepped up to the microphone, offering prayers for the city and its leaders during what they called an “illegal occupati

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