Man Handcuffs Self to DMV in Protest of $98 Fee

Wally Da Wall arrested in protest of 10-year-old fee he was unaware of

A man handcuffed himself to the door of the D.C. Department of Motor Vehicles in protest Tuesday, and despite several attempts by police to stop him, they eventually relented and arrested him.

Wally Severino clasped one handcuff on his right wrist, stood up, took a sip of coffee and then attached the other cuff to the door of the DMV.

“I have no other avenues,” he said. “I’ve done everything [the DMV has] told me to do.”

Severino, known as Wally Da Wall, was protesting a $98 fee he says is 10 years old and which he didn’t know about. He doesn’t want to pay, and that is preventing him from getting his license renewed.

Police tried hard not to arrest Severino.

“This is not going to solve anything other than to get you locked up,” one officer told him.

They gave him several chances to walk away before putting their cuffs on him.

“I’d much rather be arrested than just to be sent home like a crybaby,” Severino said.

Severino, who said he is a 60-year-old retired vet, wanted to make a stand and win his battle with the DMV.

“These gentlemen have been kind to me,” he said about the police as they led him away. “Let’s hope I find a kind judge who listens to my plight. Maybe then I can get some justice.”

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