Move over, hunger strikers: Sleep striking is the latest protest trend at Occupy DC.
To protest the National Park Service’s enforcement of a camping ban in the park (even though no arrests have been made more than 24 hours after the Park Service’s enforcement deadline passed), two Occupiers are forgoing sleep until the Park Service allows protesters to sleep in the park, they said Tuesday.
Protesters Ricky Lehner and Thom Reges haven’t slept in about 30 hours.
“It’s a little bit different from a hunger strike,” Reges said, laughing. “Instead of wearing away at our bodies, it wears away at our minds.”
Both are following specific diets to keep themselves awake – low on carbs and dairy and high on fruits, vegetables and meat.
Reges said he and other Occupiers believe the camping ban violates their First Amendment rights. He hopes to recruit more protesters for the sleep strike, he said.
“It’s a basic human right to sleep,” he said.
