A woman who took part in a protest at a Mexican restaurant in Washington, D.C., where Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen was having a meal works for the Department of Justice.
Allison Hrabar was one of a group of protesters who heckled Nielsen over the administration’s “zero tolerance” immigration policy, which has separated roughly 2,000 children from their parents. President Trump signed an executive order ending the practice on Wednesday under enormous pressure.
{mosads}Hrabar told the Washington Examiner that her decision to protest Nielsen on Tuesday was an expression of her First Amendment rights done off the clock. Hrabar’s LinkedIn page indicates she works as a paralegal specialist with the Justice Department.
“If you see these people in public, you should remind them that they shouldn’t have peace,” she told the Examiner. “We aren’t the only ones who can do this. Anyone who sees Kirstjen Nielsen at dinner, anyone who sees anyone who works at DHS and [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] at dinner can confront them like this, and that’s what we hope this will inspire people to do.”
Hrabar was among the several members of the Washington, D.C., chapter of Democratic Socialists of America who took part in the protest confronting Nielsen.
The activist group shared video on Facebook of protesters booing and yelling at Nielsen and calling on her to “abolish” Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
One day earlier, Nielsen appeared at a White House press briefing to defend the zero tolerance policy. She argued her agency is merely enforcing existing laws, and claimed “Congress alone” could address the issue.