The Washington PostDemocracy Dies in Darkness

At a tent city near the Supreme Court: ‘They want to criminalize us’

While the highest court takes on the legality of homelessness, the folks living in D.C.'s encampments explain this isn’t a choice — it’s survival

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Columnist
April 22, 2024 at 4:53 p.m. EDT
Kirk Johnsen, 38, has been living in a tent in Northwest Washington for about a year. (Petula Dvorak/The Washington Post)
6 min

Kirk Johnsen unzipped his khaki tent and popped just his head out first.

The weather would be good today, he noted. The political climate, not so much.

“They want to criminalize us,” said the 38-year-old, who has been living in an encampment about two miles from the Supreme Court, which on Monday heard arguments on anti-camping laws in Oregon, a case that could have sweeping implications for homeless encampments across the United States. “That’s what I hear is happening there today.”