A woman fired from her government contracting job for flipping the bird at President Trump’s motorcade has filed paperwork to run for local office in Northern Virginia.
Juli Briskman, who raised her middle finger at Trump’s motorcade while on a bike ride in 2017, filed paperwork declaring her intent to run in 2019 for a seat on the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors, the Washington Post reported.
The 51-year-old marketing executive will reportedly run against Republican incumbent Suzanne M. Volpe in the Algonkian District.
Briskman said she did not think about running for elected office until October of last year when she got fired from her job after a photo of her flipping off Trump’s motorcade while she was riding her bike went viral. A GoFundMe campaign started on her behalf raised more than $138,000.
“We have a right to peacefully protest and criticize and express dissent toward our government,” Briskman told the Post Tuesday. “I’ve gotten some feedback that folks say you should respect the president. Even if you don’t like what they’re doing, you shouldn’t show this sort of disdain. And I simply disagree, and I think the Constitution grants me that privilege.”
Briskman said her platform calls for increasing government funding for county schools, increasing regulations on development, and improving local government transparency.
Republicans hold a 6-3 majority on Loudoun County’s board and the Party has represented the county at the congressional level for nearly 40 years, but the county has voted for Democrats in state and federal elections.