Trouble for Colonialist at the Capitol
I’m a little late in writing about this, but I wanted to make sure I got it into my blog “for the record”.
As you may recall, last week I wrote about a hearing that was taking place on Capitol Hill about the the issue of Congressional oversight “in all cases whatsoever” in local matters within the District of Columbia. A number of prominent DC officials including Mayor Fenty and Council Chair Gray testified.
At the hearing, a local statehood activist, Nikolas Schiller, donned his traditional colonial-era outfit to highlight the status of residents of the District when it comes to our relations with Congress. I have a ton of respect for Nikolas as he is one of our most ardent and creative activists in our fight for full autonomy and statehood. In a city that is full of dry talking points and wonky position papers, he truly takes the issue to another level!
Last week during the hearing in the House Federal Workforce, Postal Service and the District of Columbia Subcommittee, he was asked to remove his hat. Not a big deal, but it was an important part of his message to the members of the committee and the media covering the event.
According to the article in the Washington Post:
On Wednesday, for a meeting of the congressional subcommittee that oversees the city, Schiller donned his usual purple overcoat, ruffled shirt and hat (but jeans instead of breeches: “It wasn’t as significant a hearing. … I didn’t want to go through the full lederhosen routine”). He said he was sitting in the room before it started when a staffer approached and told him to lose the hat, chairman’s rules. When Schiller protested that he’d worn the same hat in the same room for years, she called the police.
Outside the room, police asked for his ID and ran his name through the FBI database. He said they also asked for his Social Security number, but he refused. He was allowed back into the hearing, bareheaded.
A spokeswoman for the subcommittee disputed some of Schiller’s account, saying it “was all the Capitol Police’s doing.” Police did not get back to us by deadline with their side of the story. So Schiller wonders: Is this because the more raucous anti-tax “Tea Party” folks have adopted his Colonial look, too? “Are tricorn hats now illegal in hearing rooms? Are all hats illegal?”
My “hat’s off” to Nikolas for keeping his hat on and getting some much needed attention for the issue!
