A group of pro-Palestinian activists in Crystal City chained themselves together, and then to the lobby doors of the offices of Lockheed Martin, a security and aerospace product manufacturer that has contracts with the U.S. Department of Defense.
The protesters began with a march Monday morning starting at Boeing’s corporate headquarters on Long Beach Drive in Arlington. Activists then overtook the street outside of the Lockheed Martin building on Crystal Drive to protest the defense contractor and its contracts with the U.S. military. The action was part of other similar demonstrations around the world.
The nonviolent blockades cut off traffic access to the building between Crystal Drive and Long Bridge Drive earlier this morning.
The organizers for the protest say that it was organized by “a coalition of groups and activists based in the DMV area,” going under the name Shutdown Lockheed Martin Corp.
Organizers are demanding “an end to government funding for weapons programs such as the F-35 and F-16 fighter jet programs and an end to arms to Israel,” according to a press release. Last year, Lockheed Martin manufactured Israel’s third squadron of F-35 stealth fighter jets in a $3 billion deal that was financed using aid funding from the United States.
The protestors used a series of lockboxes and chains to shackle themselves together while displaying signs that say “Our taxes fund Lockheed Martin’s war crimes,” “Israel Kills, Lockheed Profits,” and “Free Palestine.” A paper-mache olive tree placed in the entrance had the phrase “End the Occupation” inscribed on it.
According to footage provided by activists, the police cut off the lockboxes, and demonstrators were escorted out of the lobby shortly after their demonstration began.
In their press release, the demonstrators are demanding an “end to the genocide in Gaza and the Israeli occupation of Palestine,” an end to all U.S. military funding and U.S. sale of arms to Israel, and an end to American tax dollars being spent on military weapons manufacturers. Instead, the group calls for investments in health care, housing, and other social services.
