--- description: Find out why Rahul Dubey is one of TIME's Heroes of 2020. title: Rahul Dubey: TIME's Heroes of 2020 image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc0cf010044684ab9/698a150f09208f5532417752/heroes-of-the-year-2020-rahul-dubey.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- Dec 11, 2020 # The Man Who Gave Shelter to Those in Need by [Josiah Bates](/author/josiah-bates/) ## Josiah Bates Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Josiah Bates is a criminal justice reporter and a former TIME staff writer. He currently works for The Trace.  Rahul Dubey (center, in blue) with some of the protesters he let shelter in his D.C. home on June 1 Rahul Dubey (center, in blue) with some of the protesters he let shelter in his D.C. home on June 1Courtesy Rahul Dubey On June 1, as demonstrators filled the [streets of Washington, D.C.](https://time.com/5849675/george-floyd-black-lives-matter-protest-washington/ "undefined"), to [protest](https://time.com/5844377/george-floyd-protests-minneapolis-photos/ "undefined") the killing of [George Floyd](https://time.com/5847967/george-floyd-protests-trump/ "undefined"), [Rahul Dubey](https://time.com/5846659/rahul-dubey-shelter-protests-home-washington-dc/ "undefined") was at his home, not far from the [White House](https://time.com/tag/white-house/ "undefined"). After a 7 p.m. curfew, he noticed crowds in the street outside: [police](https://time.com/5901726/police-training-academies/ "undefined") had set up barricades seemingly to trap protesters, and were [pepper-spraying](https://healthland.time.com/2011/11/22/how-painful-is-pepper-spray/ "undefined") those who remained. Dubey decided to take action. “I open my door, and I start yelling, ‘Get in!’” says Dubey, who [works in health care](https://time.com/collection/coronavirus-heroes/5816883/health-care-workers-coronavirus/ "undefined"). “All these people were swarming in.” Dubey estimates he gave 70 [protesters](https://time.com/5894356/protesters-injured-police/ "undefined") refuge, housing them overnight to avoid curfew breaches. “People were coughing, crying, strangers pouring milk into strangers’ eyes,” Dubey says. “They were sharing information, writing down numbers for bail bondsmen. It was this real camaraderie.” Dubey claims police officers made several attempts to breach his sanctuary that evening: posing as [protesters](https://time.com/5847094/washington-protests-trump/ "undefined") trying to get inside, and attempting to intercept the pizza delivery he had ordered for his houseguests. The move to open his door was driven by instinct, Dubey says nearly six months later. “It’s what was needed.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collections/heroes-of-2020/5916454/rahul-dubey/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collections/heroes-of-2020/5916454/rahul-dubey/"},"headline":"Rahul Dubey: TIME's Heroes of 2020","datePublished":"2020-12-11T03:16:46.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-02T23:46:47.874Z","description":"Find out why Rahul Dubey is one of TIME's Heroes of 2020.","url":"https://time.com/collections/heroes-of-2020/5916454/rahul-dubey/","keywords":[],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc0cf010044684ab9/698a150f09208f5532417752/heroes-of-the-year-2020-rahul-dubey.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Josiah Bates","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/josiah-bates/"}],"creator":"Josiah Bates","articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc0cf010044684ab9/698a150f09208f5532417752/heroes-of-the-year-2020-rahul-dubey.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/collections/heroes-of-2020/5916454/rahul-dubey/","name":"Rahul Dubey: TIME's Heroes of 2020"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Time's 2020 Heroes of the Year","description":"Ordinary people who went above and beyond are the heroes of the year","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/hlrLKJKP/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2020-12-11T03:36:37.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/hlrLKJKP.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/collections/heroes-of-2020/5916454/rahul-dubey/","duration":"PT30S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/collections/heroes-of-2020/5916454/rahul-dubey/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```