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An anti-war and anti-AI protester who ascended one of the tallest bridges in Washington, D.C., was arrested by authorities Wednesday after camping out atop the landmark for nearly a week.
Guido Reichstadter was safely removed from the bridge and is charged with crowding, obstructing or incommoding, unlawful entry and failing to obey an officer, the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) told Fox News Digital.
Reichstadter, 45, a former jeweler and math student, climbed the 168-foot bridge Friday night and previously told Fox News Digital he planned to stay there “until the war is ended.”
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Protester Guido Reichstadter comes down from atop the Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge with assistance from the D.C. fire department on May 06, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Heather Diehl/Getty Images)
However, on Tuesday, he posted on X that his water ran out Sunday and he planned on returning to the ground Wednesday morning.
“I’ll probably be going to jail for a while when I get down,” Reichstadter wrote in the post. “I hope that this action has offered something to motivate and inspire you, and that it can serve as fuel for greater commitment and action in the cause of peace and in the fight for our future.”
FOX 5 D.C. reported he began his dismount at about 9 a.m. local time, with firefighters and emergency crews using equipment to assist.
Protester Guido Reichstadter comes down from atop the Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge with assistance from the D.C. fire department on May 6, 2026, in Washington, DC. (Heather Diehl/Getty Images)
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He appeared to use an internal passageway inside the bridge during his dismount, the outlet reported.
Video showed Reichstadter traveling back to the ground in the basket of a fire department ladder truck before he was ushered into an ambulance.
MPD declined Fox News Digital’s request for the total cost and amount of resources expended during the six-day incident.
Protester Guido Reichstadter is put into an ambulance after coming down from atop the Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge on May 6, 2026, in Washington, D.C. (Heather Diehl/Getty Images)
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The activist, who was protesting the war with Iran and AI development, told Fox News Digital he quit his job to protest because he has two children.
“I’ve lived a full life. I’ve been married, I’ve been in love, I’ve had a career. I don’t know if they’re gonna have that,” he said. “And that’s the most important thing in the world to me, is their future and the future of the whole human race.”
Reichstadter described the state of AI development as “dire,” saying he believes the goal of frontier AI companies is “to create AI systems which vastly outperform human cognitive capabilities in every respect.”
Protester Guido Reichstadter stands atop the Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge on May 6, 2026, in Washington, D.C. Reichstadter climbed atop the bridge on Friday, May 1 in protest of what he described as “Trump regime’s war in Iran” and against AI development, according to posts on X. (Heather Diehl/Getty Images)
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He also condemned Congress for its alleged inaction in relation to the war with Iran, though he noted he does not believe the U.S. or any other country should have nuclear weapons.
“I’m not making excuses, or under any illusions that it is not an autocratic regime which has committed atrocities on its own people, but the path to a safe future does not involve nuclear weapons held by any state,” he said.
A protester against the U.S. war in Iran standing at the base of the Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge gives a peace sign to protester Guido Reichstadter who stands atop the Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge on May 6, 2026, in Washington, DC. (Heather Diehl/Getty Images)
Though Reichstadter’s protest coincided with “May Day” protests,” he said he is not involved in the movement.
He was previously arrested on charges related to AI protests in California. He was twice arrested for protesting on OpenAI’s San Francisco campus, and arrested again in 2025 for violating a judge’s order not to return.
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Court records show he pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor unlawful entry charge, receiving a suspended 90‑day sentence, 18 months of probation and a $50 fine, FOX 5 reported.
Fox News Digital’s Robert McGreevy contributed to this report.