A handful of protesters tried to rally support for recently fired State Department employees outside the U.S. State Department headquarters on Friday, but the spectacle fell flat. Nearly half a dozen former officials claimed their expertise on racism and climate change protected national security. Their failed demonstration underscored President Trump’s decision to remove them in a sweeping reorganization that cut over 1,300 positions.
Former USAID contractor Steven Ramsey, calling himself “a passionate sustainability and climate education professional,” read a grimly adapted version of “First They Came,” asserting it applied to today’s politics. The sparse crowd offered tepid applause. A Washington Free Beacon reporter attempted to ask questions but was met with hostility. “I know your outlet, and I’m trying to combat disinformation,” Ramsey declared.
Michael Duffin, the event’s organizer and a former State Department “white supremacy” advisor, refused to comment on what the Founding Fathers would think of his protest. Duffin joined the department during the Obama administration and claims he developed “some of the first programs to counter white supremacy and other forms of violent extremism.” His termination prompted him to post a farewell email quoting “So Long, Farewell” from The Sound of Music, which he called “strangely appropriate” after losing his job “for countering neo-Nazis.”
Signs demanding colleagues “resist fascism” littered the office in the days after the firings, but the public showed little interest. One woman at the rally shouted, “I read your headlines, they aren’t fair,” clutching a sign citing the oath to defend against “foreign and domestic” enemies.
