For the last three Washington Spirit home matches, Meredith Bartley has been keeping her eyes locked on the game clock.

Once the game clock displays 51:00 — meaning the start of the 52nd minute of the game — Bartley, the president of the Spirit Squadron supporters group, will lead a stadiumwide chant that has become a rallying cry for D.C. residents since the start of President Donald Trump’s law enforcement surge in the District: “Free D.C.”

“When the ’51’ shows on the clock, we get going, and it is stunningly fast to take over the whole stadium,” Bartley told WTOP. “I can’t even describe it. There’s nothing to compare it to with how quickly it takes over.”

Spirit supporters have sung the “Free D.C.” chant at all four of its home matches at Audi Field during the surge. Now that it’s co

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