Protests sparked by the police killing of George Floyd continued for a third week in a row this weekend, in defiance of rising temperatures nationwide. Demonstrators in Washington, DC, however, had a little extra help keeping cool. That’s because a group of graduates from Virginia Commonwealth University showed up to the protests toting water guns. Their mission? To spread joy and fun to protestors and service members alike.
In a clip shared to Twitter by one of the grads, who goes by the nickname Hallelujah, the young men are seen sliding water guns at people, inviting them to join the battle. The unsuspecting targets immediately get into the spirit, happily picking up the toy weapons and squirting away. Whether it’s demonstrators, National Guard members, or just tourists passing by, no one is able to resist a good water fight.
Hebrew 3:12 Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.
— Hallelujah (@Swagtaneous) June 11, 2020
LOVE each other, Angels are walking among us.
Spreading Love with The National Guard ❤️👊🏾👊👊🏿👊🏼👊🏻👊🏽 #Love #Hope #Trust #Peace #Joy #JesusisLove pic.twitter.com/1hJcrzyqkh
This was far from the first outing for Hallelujah and his band of super soakers. The crew first went viral with the same stunt back in 2019, when a heatwave in their hometown got them thinking of fun ways to help people cool off.
“Hey guess what,” Hallelujah recalls saying. “It’s hot outside. What do people need right now? Hydration. What’s the best way to hydrate people?” he recounted to WTVR news.
After their first video went viral, the VCU gang decided to up the ante by breaking the world record for largest water gun fight. At an event held last August, the group called for 5,000 participants to break the previous record of 3,875. According to Josh Roth, an organizer for the event, the record was broken, although WRIC news reports that no Guinness officials were present to confirm.
“We wanted to show people that you don’t have to go into public and disrupt and cause chaos,” Hallelujah said of his group’s mission. “You don’t have to go and spray bullets. You can go ahead and spray something as harmless as water and change the whole entire culture.”
Hallelujah reportedly told WVTR news that he and his friends plan to post more footage from their DC excursion in the near future.
Water Gun Protest — Sources:
WTVR – “How you can help VCU grads behind viral water gun challenge break world record”
WTVR – “VCU grads take water gun challenge to protests: ‘It’s all about love'”
WRIC
