Concepcion Picciotto, who maintained a protest outside the White House for more than 30 years, died Monday.
Tourists, D.C. locals and anyone who walked by the White House could see Picciotto’s protest camp in Lafayette Square, across the street from the White House on Pennsylvania Avenue. Picciotto, known to many as Connie, had maintained the anti-war, anti-nuclear weapons vigil since 1981.
D.C. Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton praised Picciotto’s determination and upheld her as an example for activists pushing for D.C. statehood.
“At a time when people ask me whether I think we will ever achieve statehood, I think of extraordinary activists like Picciotto, who recognized that there is no progress without activism,” Norton said in a release.
The Washington Post reports Picciotto was staying at N Street Village, a housing facility for women, when she passed away.
After Picciatto's death, fellow protesters organized to replace her at her vigil, Neil Cousins said Thursday as he manned Picciotto's encampment.
If the encampment is ever not occupied, by law the National Park Service must remove it.
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Picciatto's lawyer, Mark Goldstone, said it would be decided Monday if the encampment would be maintained or if it would be donated to a museum or history project.
