Parkland Shooting Victim's Dad Scales 150-Foot Crane Near White House To Protest Gun Violence

On Monday, the fourth anniversary of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas high school shooting which killed his son, a Parkland father was arrested after climbing a 150-foot construction tower next to the White House while protesting for President Joe Biden to pass gun legislation.

Manuel Oliver’s 17-year-old son, Joaquin, was slain in the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School mass shooting on Valentine's Day of 2018. The Florida tragedy claimed the lives of 17 people and left at least 17 more injured.

On Monday, Oliver opted to climb the crane “so the whole world will listen to Joaquin today.” Atop the derrick, the grieving parent dropped a banner that fully displayed a picture of his son and a message to Biden that read, “45K people died from gun violence on your watch,” CBS News reported.

“I was in DC [in] December asking to meet @POTUS. Today GUAC is with me making [his] own statement! So the whole nation can judge our reality. 150 feet high in front of the [White House]. Peaceful action. Police are on the ground!” Oliver would also tweet Monday morning.

Shortly thereafter, police would shut down the 600 block of 15th Street Northwest and ultimately take the man into custody. Subsequently, images of Oliver’s arrest would circulate on social media as his nonprofit advocacy group, Change the Ref, confirmed he has been apprehended.

Police said on Monday afternoon that Oliver was charged with unlawful entry and destruction of property, according to New York Daily News.

“This is not a local issue, this is not a federal issue that just has to be solved here in DC. Of course we want to grab the attention from the White House,” his wife Patricia said. “The location of the crane was exactly across from the White House so there’s no way to say ‘I couldn’t see the message’ because the message was very short and clear.”

Patricia added they await Biden's first State of the Union address, where he is expected to tackle gun control.

“I’d like to be there. I listened to him say that he’s taken some actions about prevention. There are a lot of words on the table but no action, so we’re not taking that. People are dying every second, every single day,” she said.

Since their son’s death, the Olivers have been more involved in gun control activism. The couple have also painted murals for Change the Ref, which they launched after the Parkland shooting, The Guardian noted.

In December, Manuel claimed that since his son died, at least 150,000 more people lost their lives from gun violence. Since Biden’s inauguration, 47,611 people have died due to gun violence.

When Manuel got arrested on Monday, he was reportedly launching the “Shock Market” initiative, which aims to force “lawmakers and Americans to face our country’s inaction, which has resulted in a tragic and shameful reputation for gun violence under the influence of the NRA.”

Meanwhile, Parkland school shooter Nikolas Cruz in October entered guilty pleas to 17 counts of murder and 17 counts of attempted murder in the first degree. His sentencing is set to begin in April.