WASHINGTON — A Tuesday abortion rights demonstration at the Supreme Court resulted in the arrest of 35 people, including 17 members of Congress, according to a statement released by the US Capitol Police.
The protest is the latest of several staged around the nation’s Capitol since June, when Supreme Court justices overturned Roe v. Wadethe decades-old ruling establishing a constitutional right to abortion.
Capitol Police arrested demonstrators for blocking traffic on First Street, NE in Washington after giving “our standard three warnings,” according to the statement. The Supreme Court is located on First Street.
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A total of 35 people were arrested for “crowding, obstructing or incommoding.” That includes 17 Members of Congress, police said.
Capitol Police did not provide the names of those arrested. When asked for comment, USCP referred USA TODAY to its original statement posted on Twitter.
“We encourage the press to reach out to a Member’s office for any comments about a Member of Congress,” USCP said in an email.
Rep. Katherine Clark, D-Mass., assistant speaker of the House, posted a picture of her being escorted by a Capitol Police officer away from the protest on her Twitter account.
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“The extremist Republicans are determined to take us back in time and take away our rights,” Clark wrote in the post. “They can arrest me, but we won’t allow them to arrest freedom.”
Rep. Carolyn Maloney, DN.Y., was also arrestedaccording to a statement posted to her Twitter account.
“There is no democracy if women do not have control over their own bodies and decisions about their own health, including reproductive care,” Maloney said in the statement.
She claimed Republicans’ goal is to institute a national ban on abortion. “We will not let them win. We will be back,” Maloney said.
Staff members for Rep. Alma Adams, DN.C., tweeted from Adams account that she had been arrested at the demonstration.
Rep. Cori Bush, D-Mo., posted a picture with members of the “Squad”—progressive, female members of the House including Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn.; Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, DN.Y.; Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass.; and Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich. —at the protest. Bush wrote that the Supreme Court “will not stop us.”
“Even though they arrested us, we won’t stop our organizing, agitating, and legislating for justice. We got us,” she added. Bush was detained by officers, according to Washington-based reporter, Raquel Martin. The Missouri congresswoman retweeted Martin’s post from her to her account from her.
Omar posted a video of her arrest to Twitter and wrote she was arrested “while participating in a civil disobedience action with my fellow Members of Congress outside the Supreme Court.”
Ocasio-Cortez retweeted Axios reporter Andrew Solender’s tweet about her arrest to her account. Pressley also posted a video of her and Rep. Madeleine Dean, D-Penn.being escorted by a USCP officer.
Evan Brandt, reporter for MercuryX in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, said Dean will pay a $50 fine.
Rep. Andy Levin, D-Mich., was also taken into custody, according to HuffPost.
Reach out to Chelsey Cox on Twitter at @therealco.
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George is Digismak’s reported cum editor with 13 years of experience in Journalism