Kennedy Center human chain protests Trump demolition threat

Protesters formed a human chain around the Kennedy Center in Washington on Friday after President Donald Trump threatened to demolish the arts complex unless his name is restored to it in some form.

The main building has been closed since Wednesday, a closure the center's leadership describes as temporary. A judge is also reviewing plans for a longer shutdown to allow renovations Trump wants at the aging venue.

Crowds gathered beneath scaffolding and tarps that have remained since workers removed Trump's name from the building in June after a court order. Demonstrators carried signs including "hands off Kennedy Center" and "Donny, you are no JFK."

Trump took control last year of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, which opened in 1971 as a living memorial to President John F. Kennedy. His handpicked board voted last year to rename the institution the Trump-Kennedy Center, but the move was later reversed by a judge.

The Washington Post reported that the naming push was followed by a major decline in ticket sales, artist boycotts and an exodus of donors. Congress has allocated $257 million for construction projects, repairs and security upgrades at the venue, and Trump has threatened to let that money sit unused if his name is not added back to the building in some way.

Neal Racioppo, a Washington resident who works in theater marketing and communications, said Trump was "depriving the world" of what the center could be. Lizzy Andrew, who has performed at the Kennedy Center, said Trump did not have the right to decide that a living memorial to a past president could be demolished. Lela Agnew, who said she has visited the center for about 50 years, said it "belongs to the people" and is "not a political place."