Capitol Police arrested 181 pro-abortion demonstrators in Washington, D.C. on Thursday as they waged a sit-in to protest the Supreme Court’s recent overturn of Roe v. Wade.
During the protest by Center for Popular Democracy Action and Planned Parenthood Action Fund Working Families Party – joined by prominent figures like Rep. Judy Chu (D-California) – demonstrators blocked a streetNear the Supreme Court, demanding that lawmakers act to protect all abortion seekers in the country.
Capitol Police began to arrest people on Thursday at noon, after being around them as they were being investigated by the protesters marchedThe Supreme Court building calling forMass civil disobedience, vowing to not back down until the abortion rights are restored. Chu, one of the original sponsors of the Democrats’ bill to codify RoeWas? among thePeople arrested as well as the progressive pastor activist Rev. William Barber II.
Police saidThe protesters were blocking an intersection and that was the reason for the arrests. However, videos posted to social media clearly show that. police closely surrounded protestersThey marched, just before the arrests began. Meanwhile, uprisings waged byHundreds of thousands of people have been subject to police violence over the past week, including tear gas. which is an abortifacient.
Chuck Modi, Journalist documentedOn Twitter, police were kettling protesters as an anti-protest tactic. often usedpolice use to trap protesters. They surround protesters and confine them in a certain area such as an alleyway, bridge or other location.
Outside SCOTUS Now. Protesters sit-in and block street, and police immediately surround & kettle them, unlike you know when…. #RoeVWade pic.twitter.com/AfjcRBzpZQ
— ChuckModi (@ChuckModi1) June 30, 2022
Modi noted that Capitol Police officers treated pro-abortion protesters with more hostility then they did. What happened to the January 6 attackers – an armed mobWith a stated intention Of killingPolitical figures and staging a coup supported by the former president of the United States. D.C. police stated that they only arrested aboutA dozen people were among a mob made up of thousands of far-right militants on the morning of the January 6th attack.
Progressive advocates noted that the differences in the police response were not surprising, despite being frustrating. “It’s not a coincidence that violent fascists were treated with kid gloves and folks protesting non-violently for abortion are arrested,” said anti-capitalist activist Joshua Potash. “Cops view one group as their friends and the other as an enemy.”
Barber, who stated that he was in police custody for three hours, denounced the police for his arrests. “There is something deeply immoral when you would be willing to use your power, not to provide people living wages, not to provide people voting rights, but to take away a woman’s power over her body,” he said. The issue also affects trans and nonbinary men. RoeThe decision was overturned and the trans community has faced a wave of attacks on its bodily autonomy that goes beyond the abortion ruling.
Advocates for abortion have been urging lawmakers to immediately take action to protect their rights. and preventAccording to researchers, this will lead to a sharp rise in the death rate of pregnant women. President Joe Biden Call for creating a carveout in the Senate filibuster in order to pass Democrats’ abortion bill, but the pledge means little in the face of recalcitrant conservative Democrats Senators Kyrsten Sinema (Arizona) and Joe Manchin (West Virginia), who were quick to shoot down Biden’s call.
Progressives argue that even if it was possible, a filibuster meatout would not suffice to meet the current demands. The Supreme Court guts Americans’ rights at a rapid clip. Ilhan Omar (D-Minnesota), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ilhan Omar, both Democrats, have called for far-right Supreme Court justices to vote to overturn Roeto be investigated and possibly impeached while other legislators Have called forExpanding the Supreme Court in order to combat Republican court packing