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Videos shared on social media show protesters making noise with horns, bells, and clanging pots and pans, and shouting “stand up, fight back” among other chants.  The demonstration was organized by the local advocacy group ShutDownDC.

Protesters shoved fake ballots in the doors of DeJoy’s apartment building at one point, and chalked messages like “We say no to voter suppression!” and “Vets are missing medications” on the street outside the apartment building.

ShutdownDC said it organized the “early morning noise demonstration to give him a much needed wakeup call.” The protest follows DeJoy’s recent cuts to the Postal Service — including a ban preventing employees from working overtime and making extra trips — that have resulted in delays and backlogs in mail delivery. The Postal Service has also recently decommissioned sorting machines.

DeJoy, a major donor to President Trump and other Republicans, said many of these actions were needed because the service is facing an $11 billion shortfall.

But election officials and lawmakers from both parties have expressed concerns that the Trump administration is purposely thwarting attempts by states to widen voting by mail during the pandemic. Trump acknowledged as much on Thursday, saying that the Postal Service would not be able to handle all of the absentee ballots without a large infusion of funds, which he opposes.

Trump said he would not approve the new COVID-19 release package if it included a $25 billion grant for the USPS. The president later walked back that statement this past Thursday.

The Postal Service recently sent letters to 46 states and the District that their mail-in ballots may not arrive in time to be counted for the November election. Maryland and Virginia were among the 40 states warned that the service didn’t have the capacity to meet current deadlines for counting ballots. D.C. was among those warned that a more narrow set of voters could be disenfranchised.

But some local residents have more immediate concerns about the Postal Service. There are fresh complaints on the Original Great Ward 8 Facebook page about inconsistent mail deliveries there. And WJLA reported Friday that people in line at a Southeast Washington post office said they had waited days, weeks and even months for mail deliveries.