ITHACA, N.Y. (AP) - Members of the Catholic Worker Movement who staged a sit-in at an office of a New York congressman who supports President Donald Trump ended their protest after the Republican lawmaker showed up to speak with them.
The Ithaca Journal reports (https://ithacajr.nl/2l1TaM6 ) members of Ithaca Catholic Worker started their sit-in Tuesday at Rep. Tom Reed’s district office in Ithaca, demanding he speak out against Trump’s executive order banning people from seven Muslim-majority nations from entering the U.S.
The protest continued into late Thursday, when Reed surprised the group after meeting with Trump in Washington, D.C., earlier in the day. Reed and the protesters - part of a pacifist groupu that helps and advocates for the homeless and exiled - spent about two hours discussing issues such as immigration and health care.
Ducson Nguyen, a member of the City of Ithaca Common Council, was there during Reed’s appearance and tweeted, “The sit-in worked!” along with a photograph of the congressman sitting at a conference table with the protesters. Nguyen was among the local leaders who have been asking Reed to schedule a town hall in Tompkins County, where Ithaca is located.
“I have held more than 200 town halls since being elected, including all counties I represent, and we will again hold town halls in all 11 counties this year,” Reed said in a statement issued earlier this week.
He has scheduled four town hall meetings Saturday in three counties southwest of Ithaca.
Reed’s mostly rural 23rd Congressional District covers 11 counties from the Finger Lakes region to New York’s southwest corner. Tompkins was the only county he lost in the November election.
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Information from: The Ithaca Journal, https://www.theithacajournal.com
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