An Indian American man in D.C. sheltered over 70 protestors who had been pepper-sprayed and cornered by police on Monday night, The Hill reports.
Rahul Dubey, 44, lives on Swann Street in a D.C. neighborhood called Dupont circle. He works in healthcare and is the owner of the Alvarez Dubey Trading Company. Dubey told ABC7 that around 8:30 p.m. the police blocked off the one-way road at 15th Street. He says people began sitting on his porch and asking if they could borrow phone chargers.
A few protestors asked if they could escape through the back of his house. Nearly 15 seconds after he let a few protestors out through the back, Dubey said he heard a large bang and saw spray. Protestors were being pepper-sprayed and chased by police.
“Get in, get in the house,” Dubey said he started yelling at protestors.
Protestors inside Dubey’s house began washing their eyes out with milk and water. Dubey told ABC7 he didn’t know how to help protestors who had been pepper-sprayed. His own eyes were burning.
Police shot pepper spray through the windows and waited outside Dubey’s house, The Hill reports.
Dubey sheltered the protestors in his townhouse until 6 a.m. the next morning when the curfew ended. Neighbors brought food and supplies. Dubey says they ordered Duccini’s pizza and had the delivery man sneak in through a back alley.
Throughout the night protestors tweeted updates. According to one of the protestor’s Allison Lane, police tried repeatedly to get to Dubey to open the door. According to her tweets, police claimed someone had called 911 and they needed to get into the house. They even sent fake protestors to the door.
Protestors say that neighbors, in addition to sending supplies, also sheltered protestors.
Lane tweeted that protestors helped clean Dubey’s house before leaving that morning. They’re asking that people help support Dubey’s small business. As protestors left, Dubey encouraged them to keep up the fight.
“I hope that my 13-year-old son grows up to be just as amazing as [the protesters] are, and I hope that they continue to fight, and I hope they go out there today peacefully as they did yesterday and not blink because our country needs them and needs you and everybody more than ever right now,” Dubey told ABC7.
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