WASHINGTON — A Florida man who scaled to the top of the Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge in Washington, D.C. is finally down after six days.
Guido Reichstadter climbed to the top of the bridge on May 1 to protest not only the war in Iran but also artificial intelligence, WUSA reported.
Police closed the span about 9 a.m. and firefighters had the task of bringing Reichstadter back to the ground.
WTOP said he packed up his belongings and came partially down before the fire department used the basket to bring him down the rest of the way.
By 9:30 a.m., he was on the ground and in custody, with traffic resuming by 10 a.m.
Over the past few days, he spoke to media outlets by phone and posted updates online. Reichstadter identified himself as the protester and released a statement on X.
His message started, “Hi my name is Guido Reichstadter & I’m currently occupying the top of the Frederick Douglass memorial bridge in Washington DC.”
In it, he also claimed that AI would bring about human extinction and called for a ban.
He had planned to come down on Monday, but he told WTOP he found “stamina to stay up here a bit longer” and a way to charge his phone.
He had also run out of water on Sunday, WRC reported.
This was not the first time he had climbed the D.C. bridge. He also did so in protest of the overturning of Roe v. Wade by the Supreme Court, staying on top of the span for more than 24 hours.
Reichstadter was charged with crowding, obstructing or incommoding; unlawful entry; and failure to obey an officer.
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