Activists Prank Russian Embassy in D.C. with Ukrainian Flag Spotlight Projected on Building

Sarah RumpfApr 14th, 2022, 2:47 pm
 

A group of activists had a grand time with a nonviolent protest against the Russian embassy in Washington, D.C., projecting a large Ukrainian flag spotlight on the side of the building — and even battling against Russian-operated counter-light defensive measures.

Lawfare blog Editor-in-Chief Benjamin Wittes was the ringleader of the merry pranksters, posting a live video feed and updates on his Twitter account into the wee hours of Thursday morning.

The Russians attempted to overpower the Ukrainian light with a bright white spotlight of their own, but did not prevail.

The group of activists had been fundraising for several weeks for theater stage lights with blue and yellow filters and a generator and gas to run them, according to a report by the Washington Post’s Clarence Williams, who stopped by the protest. Wittes’ team originally projected their light from the rooftop deck of a building across the street, and then moved down to street level later in the evening.

“It was the most invasive, obtrusive, obnoxious thing that I could do to Russian diplomats that does not molest or do violence to their prerogatives as diplomats in the United States,” Wittes told his live stream viewers, according to the Post. “I don’t want to make it comfortable to be a Russian diplomat in the United States right now.”

Wittes’ prankfare will continue next weekend, with “Operation Sunflower Planting.” He tweeted several updates about the planned mischief to plant sunflowers — the national flower of Ukraine — in a field “immediately across from the embassy gates.”

Watch the video above, via Joseph Landavaso on Twitter.

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Sarah Rumpf - Contributing Editor

Sarah Rumpf joined Mediaite in 2020 and is a Contributing Editor focusing on politics, law, and the media. A native Floridian, Sarah attended the University of Florida, graduating with a double major in Political Science and German, and earned her Juris Doctor, cum laude, from the UF College of Law. Sarah's writing has been featured at National Review, The Daily Beast, Reason, Law&Crime, Independent Journal Review, Texas Monthly, The Capitolist, Breitbart Texas, Townhall, RedState, The Orlando Sentinel, and the Austin-American Statesman, and her political commentary has led to appearances on television, radio, and podcast programs across the globe. Follow Sarah on Threads, Twitter, and Bluesky.