The Internet came to D.C. Tuesday when thousands of demonstrators connected to the online "hacktivist" group Anonymous descended on downtown as part of the worldwide "Million Mask March."
Demonstrators clogged Pennsylvania Avenue, K Street, and other streets during a meandering daylong march, almost all of them wearing the iconic Guy Fawkes masks popularized by V for Vendetta that have become synonymous with Anonymous.
The sea of plastic smiles hid the crowd’s anger toward a vast list of grievances: the National Security Agency’s surveillance program; genetically modified food; fluoridated tap water; the continued existence of the Federal Reserve; banks and big corporations; war; Congress; etc.
Three were arrested over the course of the day—two men and one woman—in front of the White House and the Capitol Building.
The march was held on Guy Fawkes Day, which commemorates the unsuccessful plot by a Catholic terrorist to blow up England’s House of Lords on Nov. 5, 1605.
The crowd gathered in Lafayette Park, across the street from the White House, where they were treated to speeches and rap performances on a small makeshift stage.
"We’re not just from the Internet," a sign hoisted outside the White House read. "We’re here, aren’t we?!?! Lulz."
Protesters varied widely in age and political disposition. There were young anarchist punks, military veterans, acolytes of conspiracy theorist Alex Jones and hardcore libertarian Adam Kokesh, and aging Baby Boomers who still haven’t given up the fight.
Bill and Linda Plasket—62 and 56 years old, respectively—stood across the street from the White House gates.
Bill described himself as a former card-carrying member of Students for a Democratic Society who helped take over the Rutgers University administration building the same day as the Kent State shootings.
Plasket said he and his wife were there because they were "wondering when people are going to wake up again and start doing something."
Police tried to tape off the street and sidewalk near the North fence of the White House, but protesters quickly dispensed with the flimsy barrier and flooded into the space.
U.S. Park Police arrested a young man on charges of assaulting an officer shortly after.
Teresa, 52, said she had voted in every election of her life, but no longer. The government was now run by corporations.
"I’m a nurse, and I’ve seen young people who try to kill themselves because they can’t get a job or can’t get by on $7.25 an hour," she said.
On the sidewalk next to the North fence of the White House, protesters began a drum circle/freestyle rap session.
Antonio Rosselini, who said he served 24 years as an Army Ranger before recently retiring, stood amidst the crowd wearing fatigues and selling American flags and yellow "Don’t Tread on Me" Gadsden flags.
"My personal belief is that Barack Obama is the anti-Christ," he said. "I’d never served under a commander-in-chief so crooked in all my life."
At noon, the crowd began marching down Pennsylvania Avenue toward the Capitol Building. A tie-dye flag mixed with yellow Gadsden flags and banners bearing the headless Anonymous logo. "End the Fed!" another sign proclaimed.
Two 18-year-old community college students who identified themselves only as "anonymous" said this was their first protest of any kind. They’d skipped work to attend because "our generation will soon come to power and rule the world."
Anonymous is a loosely organized collective of "hacktivists" who often target large governments and companies who oppose their interests with malicious cyber attacks.
The group supports leakers of government secrets, such as Julian Assange, Bradley Manning, and Edward Snowden. It was also closely allied with the now-moribund Occupy movement.
According to the event’s Facebook page, the march was held "to remind this world what it has forgotten, that fairness, justice, and freedom are more than just words."
Concurrent demonstrations were planned in more than 400 cities around the world.
Protesters came to D.C. from up and down the Eastern Seaboard, the Midwest, and there was reportedly even one man from Egypt.
Two human rights activists said they’d travelled to D.C. from Chicago.
A couple with a baby in tow—the mother’s face painted in the white-and-black Guy Fawkes style—had driven up from South Carolina to protest GMOs.
"I’m from Virginia, near Suffolk," one demonstrator said.
"I’m from Reddit," another replied.
The march stopped in front of the Newseum to recite the First Amendment, which is engraved on the large façade of journalism’s monument to itself.
As the march approached the Capitol Building, the dulcet melody of Twisted Sister’s "We’re Not Gonna Take it" arose from the crowd, as did a large number of middle fingers.
Protesters marched to the steps of the Capitol Building, but this time they found sturdy metal barriers and a host of U.S. Capitol Police with zip-tie handcuffs hooked on their belts.
"They don’t have enough zip ties for all of us!" someone in the crowd shouted.
"I bet they do!" another marcher shouted back.
Two demonstrators hopped the police line and were arrested.
With the march at a standstill, protesters began speeches about corruption in Congress, getting money out of politics, getting fluoride out of tap water, and other pressing issues.
"Look at us. We’re the revolution," one protester said. "For every one of you, there’s 1,000 sitting at home who agree with you. You need to bring them out."
The rhetoric was similar to much of the Occupy movement and its arguments against economic inequality, rapacious capitalism, and pay-for-play politics.
John Weston, 22, rested against a wall in front of a stone-faced policeman and talked about his general discontent. Unlike many of the other protesters, he said he had never cottoned to the Occupy movement and its tendency toward defecating in public, open drug use, and sexual assaults.
However, like many in the crowd, he was worried about the economic crunch facing younger generations.
"I think I speak for everyone here when I say none of us can afford Obamacare," Weston said.
After a long bout of shouting at the police, speeches about the revolution, and one hug session, the crowd walked around the perimeter of the Capitol Building to the Visitors Center—a project that cost taxpayers $621 million dollars.
Unfortunately, the Capitol Building does not allow visitors to wear masks inside for security reasons. The police allowed protesters inside, provided they left their signage behind and kept their masks off.
Several used the opportunity to use the bathroom, but most stayed outside.
"This is what a police state looks like," one aggrieved protester said.
One activist suggested forming a circle and drafting a list of demands, but that idea was scrapped in favor of heading back toward the White House.
And so the Internet began marching back from whence it came, down Independence Avenue, cutting over to Pennsylvania, eventually turning to hit K Street and the lobbying corridor.
This footsore reporter caught the Metro at the Navy Memorial.