"Area cleanup" of overpass homeless camps limited to trash removal by community pressure

On the 8th of December, DC Dept of Public Works trash trucks showed up at the L and M st underpass homeless tent cities for a pre-announced "cleanup." Normally these involve forcible expulsion of all residents and large-scale destruction of property. This time however, community activists were ready and waiting, and the cleanup was limited to trash collection and removal of two abandoned tents at request of camp residents.

A prior "cleanup" in the past destroyed the former K st underpass camp, and campsites in Rock Creek Park and Foggy Bottom have been destroyed by Mayor Bowser's agents. She was not however up for having her agents compared on camera to the Proud Boys for assaulting a homeless camp just four days before the Trump/MAGA folks return to DC to promote a similar agenda. With the media and camera-wielding activists ready and waiting, she threw in the towel and cancelled the no doubt planned attack. Instead, DPW ended up actually providing a service by bringing trash collection to a community that normally must pack out all their own trash.