Overview
- The group arrived in the District on Tuesday, with appearances at American University's Bender Arena and the Washington National Cathedral and a concluding ceremony scheduled at the Lincoln Memorial on Wednesday.
- Leaders say they will ask lawmakers to recognize Vesak as a national holiday, though they stress the pilgrimage is not a political campaign.
- The walk drew large in-person crowds across the South and a massive online following across Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, with interfaith leaders hosting a reception at the cathedral.
- Safety escorts and rolling road closures accompanied the procession, which continued despite a November crash near Houston that injured two monks and led to an amputation.
- A Harris County lawsuit filed by three monks names driver Jesus Israel Ramirez and TNT Crane & Rigging, and after a planned stop in Annapolis the group will bus back to Fort Worth for a final six-mile homecoming walk.