Man comes down from DC's Frederick Douglass bridge Wednesday, ending 6-day protest

[mahatmakanejeeves]

It's raining now.

Man comes down from DC’s Frederick Douglass bridge Wednesday, ending 6-day protest

Jessica Kronzer | [e-mail]
Ciara Wells | [e-mail]
May 6, 2026, 10:23 AM


A person scales the Frederick Douglass Bridge in D.C. on Friday, May 1, 2026. (Courtesy Marideth Joy Sandler via X)

The Florida man who scaled the Frederick Douglass Bridge in Southwest D.C. last week has come down, closing out his 6-day protest.

With the assistance of D.C. Fire and EMS, Guido Reichstadter, 45, left his perch at the top of the bridge just before 9:30 a.m. Wednesday, after climbing the the bridge barefoot on Friday.

Video from the scene shows Reichstadter packed up his belongings, trekked down part of the bridge and then got into the basket of a fire truck, hoisted up to meet him partway.

After he stepped down into that basket, it appears first responders seemingly restrained Reichstadter by his hands.

WTOP has contacted D.C. police to ask whether Reichstadter is expected to face any charges related to the protest.

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This is a developing story. Stay with WTOP for the latest.

WTOP’s Neal Augenstein contributed to this report.

Jessica Kronzer
Jessica Kronzer graduated from James Madison University in May 2021 after studying media and politics. She enjoys covering politics, advocacy and compelling human-interest stories.
[e-mail]
@kronzer_news

Ciara Wells
Ciara Wells is the Evening Digital Editor at WTOP. She is a graduate of American University where she studied journalism and Spanish. Before joining WTOP, she was the opinion team editor at a student publication and a content specialist at an HBCU in Detroit.
[e-mail]

[riversedge]

1. Curios what the man did when he had a call to Nature???