Protesters at Washington Dulles are happy, well behaved

I took an international flight out of Washington Dulles Sunday evening so stepped down to the international arrivals lounge curious to see what was happening in light of the Trump travel ban that ignited protests over the weekend.

What I saw was hundreds of protesters – but all very well behaved and in good spirits. There was no evidence of them disrupting the arrivals process. For one, they were all gathered well outside of the customs, immigration and bag collection area, which is located on the other side of automatically closing doors. No-one was trying to get through those doors. Police had set up some cordons so that arriving passengers could easily walk past the protesters and to the terminal exit doors. No arriving passengers were being hassled or stopped. Many smiled or hugged their welcoming party.

The protesters were chanting, mostly jubilant welcomes to each arriving passenger (or flight crew), especially if they were wearing head scarves, when they typically applauded and cried “welcome!”

There were also lots of signs offering free legal services.

It was a remarkable scene.

Karen Walker [email protected]