An Anti-NSA march took place in Washington today to protest online surveillance on citizens by the U.S. government. The extent of the spying was revealed by Edward Snowden earlier this year.
Hundreds of people attended the march to show the National Security Agency what they thought. Some of the demonstrators were holding placards and signs reading: “Stop Mass Spying,” “Thank you, Edward Snowden” and “Unplug Big Brother.”
The anti-NSA Washington march, which took place at the bottom of Capitol Hill, attracted people from far and wide as well as Democrats and Republicans marching side-by-side.
Michael Greene, one of the protestors at the march, said: “I consider myself a conservative and no conservative wants their government collecting information on them and storing it and using it.”
Another protestor, Jennifer Wynne, added: “Over the past several months, we have learned so much about the abuses (of privacy) that are going on and the complete lack of oversight and the mass surveillance into every detail of our lives. And we need to tell Congress that they have to act.”
The event was organized by a little known coalition named “Stop Watching Us”, which includes around 100 advocacy groups and companies, as well as the American Civil Liberties Union.
A letter sent to Congress by the coalition urges them to retract a law called the Patriot Act: “We are calling on Congress to take immediate action to halt this surveillance and provide a full public accounting of the NSA’s and the FBI’s data collection programs,” it said.
Holmes Wilson from Worcester, Mass., a founder of the group “Fight for the Future” attended the NSA Washington march wearing tape across his mouth and holding a banner saying: “Spying is censorship.”
Wilson said: “I’m terrified by the ability the U.S. has to do surveillance here and all over the world. They know who we associate with and where we are at any given time. It’s only getting worse.”