From staff reports
PARKERSBURG – More than 150 people engaged in a protest today over a reported visit by representatives of the Department of Government Efficiency to the Bureau of the Fiscal Service offices in Parkersburg.
But whether anyone from Elon Musk’s initiative aimed at finding and eliminating wasteful government spending was in town has yet to be confirmed.
National media reports indicate the DOGE representatives were coming to Parkersburg to access a central government accounting system. A representative of the National Treasury Employees Union that represents Fiscal Service employees, who asked to remain anonymous, said he had heard those reports but could not confirm or deny the presence of DOGE.
“I do not know who was in the building,” the representative said.
Messages seeking comment have been sent to Fiscal Service and the Department of the Treasury of which it is a part.
A protest organized by the ACLU of West Virginia started in Bicentennial Park, about a block away from one of the offices. Protesters walked from there to the Fiscal Service office off Market Street and on Avery Street.
Local attorney Walt Auvil was among those participating in the protest. Based on actions involving other federal agencies, he said he was worried DOGE could end up making significant cuts to one of the largest employers in the area without the Constitutional authority to do so.
“The DOGE thing is fundamentally illegal,” Auvil said. “The question that we’re going to answer is, will that matter? We don’t know the answer to that question yet, and that is pretty scary.”
Parkersburg Police Chief Matthew Board said his department was aware of the reports and the protest, but no intervention by police was required.
“It all seemed to be peaceful from a public safety perspective,” he said.
