Shortly after hundreds of Washingtonians and their elected officials gathered by the Rayburn House Office Building on Monday evening chanting “Hands off D.C.!”, congressmen inside the building decided to take another step toward blocking the District’s medical aid in dying bill.

By the time the House committee voted 22-14 to overturn the Death with Dignity law, more than 700 District residents had moved to H St. NE for a meeting about fighting back against what they deem unnecessary meddling from the Hill in D.C. affairs. The bulk of the panel discussions and break-out groups were happening at Atlas Performing Arts, with bars Stars & Shamrock and H Street Country Club hosting overflow rooms where people could watch a livestream of the events taking place a few doors down.

“The energy is just phenomenal,” said Ward 6 Councilmember Charles Allen, whose office organized the event. “But Chaffetz is trying to undo one of our laws right now and he’s smiling as he does it.”

Allen was referring to Jason Chaffetz, the Utah Republican who heads up the House Oversight Committee—where many of the policies that target D.C. originate.

Chaffetz was one of the people whose name kept coming up at the earlier rally. “Chaffetz don’t tell me when and how to die!” one sign read, while another said “Chaffetz: Screwing D.C. isn’t serving Utah.”

“Go back to Utah,” said At-large Councilmember Robert White to large cheers. “It looks like you have your hands full there.” He was referring to a town hall in Utah last week, where Chaffetz faced boos and was drowned out at times by chants of “Do your job!”

Ward 1 Councilmember Brianne Nadeau held her Chaffetz name plate, which she bought so he could start attending council meetings, along with a list of things he ought to be investigating rather than bothering D.C.

“With the president that we have right now, if I was the chair of the Oversight Committee, I’d have a few other things on my mind,” Nadeau said, like investigating Donald Trump’s business ties and the relationship between since-resigned National Security Adviser Michael Flynn and Russia.

(On that last count, Chaffetz told reporters today that the investigation into Flynn was “taking care of itself.”)

Shadow Senator Michael D. Brown said he planned on going to Utah to host a fundraiser for Damian Kidd, who has announced he is running a primary campaign against Chaffetz in 2018.

At the Hands Off D.C. meeting, Lynette Craig, a Ward 5 resident, said she is in the beginning stages of starting a political action committee to target Chaffetz. A former Utah resident, she has experience running political campaigns in the Beehive State. “I’m ready to bring D.C. dollars to Utah,” she said.

A similar effort by the Not Your District PAC focused its cash on unseating Florida Rep. John Mica, who was voted out of office in 2016.

The idea of the Hands Off D.C. meeting was to connect frustrated residents thirsting for ways to get involved with organizations that have already started doing the work.

Groups that would be uniquely affected by the Republican Congress showed up to table and sign up new volunteers. They ranged from well-established organizations like the American Civil Liberties Union of D.C., Planned Parenthood of Metropolitan Washington, Moms Demand Action, D.C. Families for Gun Safety, Jews United For Justice, and Neighbors for D.C. Statehood, to newer projects that have launched since the election, like the local chapter of the Women’s March, CounterAct, and more.

“It feels like, after the [Women’s] March, everyone took a deep breath and thought, ‘What’s next?'” said Jackie Savage, one of the local leaders for the Jan. 21 march. Now, the people who met weekly to plan the huge demonstration (“it was almost a support group, honestly,” she says) have a new working name: “D.C. Local Women.”

“We’ve moved away from a ward structure because it institutionalizes the differences that exist among us,” Savage said, adding that the group is talking about a community service aspect and a communications arm. “It starts local, and then it grows to national.”

For the ACLU of D.C., membership continues to grow. Before the election, the group had 3,200 members, which doubled shortly after November 8, says executive director Monica Hopkins-Maxwell. They’re currently at 11,000.

They have so many volunteers, she said, that they’re starting to direct them to other organizations. “It’s a solidarity moment,” she says. “We want to partner in this moment in time.”

Planned Parenthood of Metropolitan Washington is seeing a similar boost in activity. “There’s an outpouring of donations, of people throwing fundraisers on our behalf,” says Mara Braunger.

For many, the election motivated them to get involved in a way they hadn’t before. Kavita Mak was bouncing her five-month old son Roshan as she explained that “part of the reason we came is because the election threw us off.”

She and her husband James moved to the District two and a half years ago but said that post-election, they learned who their councilmember was and feel a new obligation to get politically active.

While Allen’s office spearheaded this meeting, he said that “there’s no way I can run a campaign out of my office, nor should I.” He sees the gathering as a way to connect people and build capacity so they can continue their efforts independently.

The Capitol Hill Arts Workshop brought posterboard and arts supplies for a sign-making workshop. “The next time we assemble, people can take their signs with them,” said Cherie Lester of CHAW.

And it looks like there will be ample opportunities to use those signs. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson warned the rally crowd that “this may not be the last time” that D.C. officials call on residents to stand up for themselves.

“When I put my John Hancock on that law, it should be the law of the land,” said Mayor Muriel Bowser at the earlier rally, who added that, while a lot changed on Election Day, “the values we hold dear didn’t. We have to fight back to preserve those values. It could get tough … we need Washingtonians standing up.”

“Let’s hear it for Governor Bowser!” said Allen, one of many references to D.C.’s ongoing fight for statehood. But D.C. will remain on the defensive. Even the “Hands Off D.C.” messaging is a far cry from “Statehood Yes!”

D.C. Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton said at the rally that she was telling her congressional colleagues “Don’t vote for death with dignity. Vote for local democracy.”

The disapproval resolution passed the House committee on Monday night. It moves next to the House floor, where it’s widely expected to succeed. (Norton does not have a floor vote.) From there, it needs to pass in the Senate and get the president’s signature—all by Friday—to overturn the law.

District politicians say they’ve focused their outreach on the Senate, where they have a greater likelihood of success. “The Senate is the saucer that cools the tea,” said Allen.

Bowser declined to share specifics about Hill lobbying efforts with DCist. She has said on a number of occasions that activities are happening behind the scenes.

Many District residents want to make the issue personal. “I think everyone would be on the side of D.C. statehood if you talked to them in person,” says Adam Duffy, a Ward 5 resident who came to the meeting. “It should be a nonpartisan issue.”

There will be a lobbying coalition that goes to the Hill on Wednesday to speak with members of Congress about statehood.

And in the meantime, residents continue to feel frustrated with Chaffetz, who told The Washington Post his favorite D.C. neighborhood was Chinatown because it had a Five Guys burger chain. For many, it was further confirmation that the Utahn knew nothing about the place he continues to meddle with.

“I like hamburgers too,” said ANC Commissioner Paul Karrer of Ward 1. “But I like self government, democracy, and the rule of law more.”