Small Gesture Against Wrong.

Cyclist fired for flipping off Trump's motorcade is running for local office

by Rebecca Bratek

The cyclist who was fired from her job last fall after flipping off President Trump's motorcade is running for local office in Virginia. Juli Briskman announced Wednesday she will seek a seat on the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors in 2019.

Briskman, who went viral after a photographer caught her flashing her middle finger at Mr. Trump's black SUVs, filed paperwork to challenge Republican incumbent Suzanne M. Volpe in the Algonkian District.

"You might know me as the woman who was fired for flipping off the Presidential motorcade," Briskman wrote in her campaign announcement. "And while it may be the most public display of my political opinion and activism, I have been deeply involved in the Loudoun County community for nearly 20 years."

Volpe, who has been on the board since 2012, won her 2015 contest by 4.5 percentage points, according to the Loudoun Times-Mirror. Loudoun County historically votes for Democrats on the state and federal level, the Washington Post notes, but Republicans maintain control of the county board, 6 to 3. 

Briskman told The Post that she didn't consider running for office until last October, when she was forced out of her government contracting job. 

"We have a right to peacefully protest and criticize and express dissent toward our government," she told The Post. 

"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 did not immediately respond to a request for comment from CBS News.

Briskman was cycling on her usual path in Northern Virginia last Halloween when the president's black SUVs pulled up alongside her. A White House news photographer who was trailing behind immortalized the moment.

The photo of her gesture quickly went viral, and Briskman even featured the photo on her Facebook and Twitter pages. After she informed her employer of the photo, she said her bosses pulled her aside and told her she had violated the company's social media policy.

But if she had the opportunity, Briskman told The Post, she'd probably do it again.

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