DC man who sheltered protesters honored in Time’s ‘Heroes of 2020’

A Washington, D.C., man who gained notoriety over the summer for sheltering 70 protesters in his home after they were trapped and pepper-sprayed by police along his street has been featured in Time magazine’s “Heroes of 2020.”

Time, who labeled Rahul Dubey as “The Man Who Gave Shelter to Those in Need,” detailed the events that led Dubey to usher people into his home on the evening of June 1. 

Dubey told Time that following a 7 p.m. curfew implemented in the city in the aftermath of the police killing of George Floyd and the subsequent protests, he noticed crowds forming on his street. He said he saw police setting up barricades to trap protesters, and then pepper-spraying the demonstrators. 

“I open my door, and I start yelling, ‘Get in!’” Dubey, who works in health care, said. “All these people were swarming in.” 

“People were coughing, crying, strangers pouring milk into strangers’ eyes,” Dubey added. “They were sharing information, writing down numbers for bail bondsmen. It was this real camaraderie.” 

Dubey claimed that police officers made several attempts to come into his house that evening, either by posing as protesters or trying to intercept a pizza delivery Dubey ordered.  

When the city’s curfew lifted at 6 a.m., Dubey said the crowd dispersed out the back door, still afraid to leave from the front. 

Six months after the incident, Dubey told Time that his actions were “what was needed.” 

Dubey told CBS’s D.C. affiliate station WUSA on Friday that he shares the Time recognition with the protesters. 

“It means a lot that TIME Magazine has recognized us as heroes of the year,” Dubey told the local outlet. “But it is a collective and I’m grateful for that.

“It puts D.C. back as a reminder of what this city is,” he added. “Not just politicians and bureaucrats, but people driving change.”

This recognition comes as Time also named top infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci and the world’s frontline healthcare workers as the “Guardians of the Year.” 

“On the front line against COVID-19, the world’s health care workers displayed the best of humanity—selflessness, compassion, stamina, courage—while protecting as much of it as they could,” Time wrote. “By risking their lives every day for the strangers who arrived at their workplace, they made conspicuous a foundational principle of both medicine and democracy: equality.” 

Time added that Fauci “led not only the battle against COVID-19 but also the fight for truth—clear, consistent messaging being fundamental to public health.”

Time magazine named President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris its “Person of the Year” in an announcement Thursday night.