From ABC 7, January 6, 2029
WASHINGTON (ABC7) — If you’ve driven around Washington, D.C. in the past few weeks, you might have notice street signs renaming prominent roadways “Khashoggi Way” in remembrance of the slain journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
A DC political activist group created the legitimate-looking signs and put them around the nation’s capital. The signs look real enough with white, reflective letters on a green background. However, they are not sanctioned by the District’s Department of Transportation.
“They actually are street signs,” Claude Taylor said.
Taylor is an outspoken critic of the president but said creating a dozen “Khashoggi Way” signs are about the First Amendment. He ordered them from a company that provides road signage to local governments around the country.
“What happened to Khashoggi really upset me. It really did. I think I’d still be doing this even if Donald Trump wasn’t president,” he said.
In October, the Washington Post columnist and Saudi Arabian dissident was killed inside the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul. Taylor felt it was his duty to honor him. It cost around $80 per sign that are placed in significant DC locations, like in clear view of the White House.
“If he’s just making a statement about a person who lived in this country, who was brutally murdered by a foreign power, if you agree or if you don’t, I think it’s more of a moral compass than just political one,” District resident Nicole Thomas said.
“To see it kind of pop up there is great to realize that some people aren’t forgetting, some people are sticking with these stories and it means a lot more to people than sometimes we think,” said Bryan Kuppe, a District resident showing visitors the White House.
There are five signs around the city but more could pop up.
“I have one in the back of my van, I mean, I might drop one off on the way home,” Taylor said.
That’s exactly what he did Sunday afternoon in busy Georgetown.
“I think it’s cool. You’re honoring someone, I mean at a time like this, to honor heroes, I think it’s a good thing,” DC visitor and Detroit resident Genna Owens said.
“It’s America, we can do just that. Freedom of speech, right?” said Eugene, visiting from San Francisco.
Taylor started putting up the signs in December and was surprised they’ve lasted this long. Only on has gone missing. He hopes the signs will make people remember Jamal Khashoggi.
“He died, in essence, for everyone’s first amendment rights, is how I look at it,” Taylor said.
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