The woman who flipped off Trump's motorcade is running for office

The woman who lost her job for flipping off President Donald Trump’s motorcade is now running for public office.

Juli Briskman, who was caught on camera flipping the bird at Trump’s motorcade in northern Virginia in 2017 and lost her job at a government contracting firm over it, is now running for local office in Virginia. Briskman, a Democrat, is challenging Republican Suzanne Volpe for her seat on the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors in 2019.

Briskman, a 51-year-old with a bachelor’s degree in journalism and an MBA, would represent Algonkian District on the board in Loudon, she told the Washington Post. Although the county has reliably voted for Democrats on the federal level, the supervisors board has been controlled by Republicans for almost four decades. Briskman and other local Democrats hope to overthrow the 6-3 Republican majority in 2019.

Briskman told the Post her platform would be built on a call to fund the county’s schools and to put checks on developers. She also called out her opponent’s support of a tax cut that cost the district $14 million. Volpe, for her part, said that she supports Trump but hopes that voters will focus on local issues.

As for her brief moment in the spotlight last year, middle finger outstretched as she rode her bike past the motorcade, Briskman still seems to have no regrets.

“We have a right to peacefully protest and criticize and express dissent toward our government,” Briskman told the Washington 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 still organizes and helps stage protests when Trump visits the town to spend time at his golf club in Loudon.

Cover: President Donald Trump's motorcade drives past demonstrators while leaving Trump National Golf Club in Sterling, Va., Sunday, Aug. 26, 2018, en route back to the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)