Manuel Oliver — father to Joaquin "Guac" Oliver, one of the 17 people killed in the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on Feb. 14, 2018 — protested atop a construction crane in Washington, D.C., Monday morning, The Washington Post reports.
"The whole world will listen to Joaquin today. He has a very important message," Oliver tweeted, standing on the 150-foot crane. "I asked for a meeting with [President Biden] a month ago, never got that meeting."
Oliver and his wife Patricia wanted to draw attention to their new initiative shockmarket.org, "a website tracking gun violence during Biden's term as president," writes the Post. The effort is also asking Biden to pledge substantial reform to curb gun violence during his State of the Union address, slated for March 1. The project was launched in conjunction with March for Our Lives and Guns Down America.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Oliver also hung from the crane a sign that read, "45K people died from gun violence on your watch!", alongside a photo of Joaquin, per CNN.
"We decided to grab Mr. Biden's attention and that crane was exactly across from the White House," Patricia Oliver told the Post. There will be no way for Biden "to say 'I didn't notice it,'" she added.
The demonstration ended midmorning. Three people are in custody and facing charges of unlawful entry, though it is not entirely clear if Manuel Oliver is one of them, the Post notes.
Biden released a statement on Monday to commemorate the lives lost four years ago in the Parkland shooting, saying he "stands with those working to end this epidemic of gun violence."
-
The Week Unwrapped: Have pedigree dogs had their day?Podcast Plus what can we learn from Slovenia’s rejection of assisted dying? And can politicians admit their weaknesses?
-
4 often overlooked home maintenance tasks that could cost you laterThe Explainer A little upkeep now can save you money down the road
-
What are the pros and cons of a Roth conversion for retirement?Pros and Cons By converting a traditional IRA to a Roth IRA, retirees can skip paying taxes on their withdrawals
-
Judge halts Trump’s DC Guard deploymentSpeed Read The Trump administration has ‘infringed upon the District’s right to govern itself,’ the judge ruled
-
Trump accuses Democrats of sedition meriting ‘death’Speed Read The president called for Democratic lawmakers to be arrested for urging the military to refuse illegal orders
-
Court strikes down Texas GOP gerrymanderSpeed Read The Texas congressional map ordered by Trump is likely an illegal racial gerrymander, the court ruled
-
Trump defends Saudi prince, shrugs off Khashoggi murderSpeed Read The president rebuked an ABC News reporter for asking Mohammed bin Salman about the death of a Washington Post journalist at the Saudi Consulate in 2018
-
Congress passes bill to force release of Epstein filesSpeed Read The Justice Department will release all files from its Jeffrey Epstein sex-trafficking investigation
-
Trump says he will sell F-35 jets to Saudi ArabiaSpeed Read The president plans to make several deals with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman this week
-
Judge blasts ‘profound’ errors in Comey caseSpeed Read ‘Government misconduct’ may necessitate dismissing the charges against the former FBI director altogether
-
Ecuador rejects push to allow US military basesSpeed Read Voters rejected a repeal of a constitutional ban on US and other foreign military bases in the country
