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District of Columbia

Political repression plays out state by state — shaped by local institutions, prosecutors, and movements for defense. These are the documented political prisoners and cases the census holds for District of Columbia.

370Documented
8In custody
294Released
1Awaiting trial

Eras of repression in District of Columbia

Where District of Columbia’s entries fall across the census’s historical eras.

1910s 158 1980s 41 1960s 33 1930s 30 2020s 23 1970s 20

Recent dashboard entries from District of Columbia

The newest published events and reporting located in District of Columbia, updated automatically from the live dashboard.

Other

Federal agents search Rep. Ilhan Omar’s Washington home

Washington, D.C. · Associated Press
Other

White House excludes Politico from Air Force One press pool

Washington, D.C. · U.S. Press Freedom Tracker
Protest

Pro-Data Center Party Interrupted by Protesters in DC

PubKey, Washington, DC · Newsweek
Other

White House excludes CNN from Air Force One press pool for presidential trips

Washington, DC · U.S. Press Freedom Tracker
Protest

Thousands join protest outside Kennedy Center, expressing concern that Trump might tear it down

Kennedy Center, Washington, DC · PBS NewsHour
Other

CNN, MS NOW and Politico barred from White House access; outlets challenge the ban

White House, Washington, DC · U.S. Press Freedom Tracker
Arrest

He brought a guillotine to D.C. He didn’t expect to get arrested.

U.S. Capitol and Supreme Court, Washington, DC · The Washington Post
Prosecution

Trump denies US weapons shortage and says information 'leakers' being 'hunted down'

The White House, Washington, D.C. · BBC News
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Documented cases

370 entries in the census — every one stays in the record, whether the case is open or closed.

Mrs. R. B. Quay
Released
Mrs. R. B. Quay was a member of the National Woman's Party and one of the "Silent Sentinels" imprisoned during...
Tracye Redd
Released
Tracye Redd, age 28, of Washington DC, Greenpeace 28 - September 2019 Houston Ship Channel bridge rappel.
Karl Reeve
Released
Karl Reeve was the editor of the Labor Defender. Karl Reeve was one of the leaders arrested in the November 19...
Sidney Lori Reid
Released
Sidney Lori Reid was arrested after recording federal agents taking two people into ICE custody outside the D....
Betsy Graves Reyneau
Released
Betsy Graves Reyneau was a portrait painter and was a member of the National Woman’s Party and one of the "Sil...
Marie Richardson
Released
Marie L. Richardson Harris was a Black Washington labor and civil-rights organizer convicted of falsely denyin...
Mrs. C. T. Robertson
Released
Mrs. C. T. Robertson was a member of the National Woman's Party and one of the "Silent Sentinels" imprisoned d...
Randall Robinson
Released
Randall Robinson was the lawyer-activist who founded TransAfrica in 1977 to organize Black American foreign-po...
Elizabeth Selden Rogers
Released
Elizabeth Selden Rogers was a New York civic reformer and Putnam County NWP leader. On Bastille Day July 14, 1...
Sonia Anayibe Rojas
Released
Anayibe Rojas Valderrama, known as Sonia, was a member of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). C...
Thomas Rooney
Released
Thomas Rooney was arrested for unlawful entry on June 21, 1969 after joining more than one hundred freeway opp...
Elise T. Russian
Released
Elise T. Russian was a member of the National Woman's Party and one of the "Silent Sentinels" imprisoned durin...
Sheila P. Ryan
Released
Sheila P. Ryan joined the first recorded sit-in inside the White House on March 11, 1965, demanding federal pr...
Nina Samorodin
Released
Nina Samorodin was a member of the National Woman’s Party and one of the "Silent Sentinels" imprisoned during...
Lois Warren Shaw
Released
Lois Warren Shaw was a member of the National Woman's Party and one of the "Silent Sentinels" imprisoned durin...
Belle Sheinberg
Released
Belle Sheinberg was a member of the National Woman’s Party and one of the "Silent Sentinels" imprisoned during...
Lucille Shields
Released
Lucille Shields was a member of the National Woman's Party and one of the "Silent Sentinels" imprisoned during...
Martha Reed Shoemaker
Released
Martha Reed Shoemaker was a member of the National Woman's Party and one of the "Silent Sentinels" imprisoned...
James William Simonton
Released
James William Simonton was a New York Times Washington correspondent confined by the House of Representatives...
Ruth Small
Released
Ruth Small was a member of the National Woman's Party and one of the "Silent Sentinels" imprisoned during the...
J. Holmes Smith
Released
J. Holmes Smith was a former Methodist missionary in India and a cofounder of the interracial Harlem Ashram. P...
Joanna Smith
Released
Joanna Smith, age 53, of Declare Emergency, smeared black and red paint on the case and pedestal of Edgar Dega...
Emily Gabriella Sommer
Released
Emily Gabriella Sommer was prosecuted after spitting on interim U.S. Attorney Ed Martin during a May 8, 2025 s...
Dr. Caroline E. Spencer
Released
Dr. Caroline E. Spencer was a member of the National Woman's Party and one of the "Silent Sentinels" imprisone...

Institutions in District of Columbia

Prisons, jails, and detention centers in District of Columbia that appear in the census’s case files.

Old Capitol PrisonWashington, District of Columbia
216 cases
District of Columbia JailWashington, District of Columbia
7 cases
District of Columbia Department of CorrectionsWashington, District of Columbia
6 cases
Washington County JailWashington, District of Columbia
5 cases
Washington, D.C. JailWashington, District of Columbia
5 cases
War Tax ResistanceWashington, District of Columbia
4 cases
D.C. Central Detention FacilityWashington, District of Columbia
2 cases
Carroll PrisonWashington, District of Columbia
2 cases
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