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56 Arrested Demonstrating Support for Christine Blasey Ford

Protesters rally against nomination of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh

Capitol Police arrested 56 protesters who were demonstrating support for Christine Blasey Ford.(Photo By Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call)
Capitol Police arrested 56 protesters who were demonstrating support for Christine Blasey Ford.(Photo By Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call)

Capitol Police arrested 56 protesters Thursday who flooded Senate office buildings  to voice opposition to Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh and express support for his accuser, Christine Blasey Ford.

Thirty-three protesters were arrested outside of Senate Judiciary Chairman Charles E. Grassley’s office in the Hart Building on Thursday afternoon. The demonstrators were charged with “crowding, obstructing, or incommoding.” Earlier in the day, Capitol Police arrested 23 protesters outside the Dirksen Building office of Tennessee Republican Sen. Bob Corker for “unlawful demonstration activities.” They faced the same charges.

Demonstrators protested outside Senate Judiciary Chairman Charles E. Grassley's office in Hart. (Photo By Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call)
Demonstrators protested outside Senate Judiciary Chairman Charles E. Grassley‘s office in the Hart Senate Office Building. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call)

In addition to the protesters arrested, scores of people staged quiet demonstrations all day at different senators’ offices. Many wore pins that read “I believe Dr. Christine Blasey Ford” — a throwback to pins worn during the 1991 hearings when Anita Hill testified about sexual harassment while working for Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas. One of the buttons that reads “I believe Anita Hill” is on display at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture. 

Buttons worn in support of Dr. Ford harken back to similar pins worn in to show support for Anita Hill in 1991. (Photo By Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call)
Buttons worn in support of Ford harken back to similar pins worn in to show support for Anita Hill in 1991. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call)

Thursday’s protesters came from a variety of groups — health care organizations, disability rights groups and the Women’s marches.

Correction 8:01 p.m. | An earlier version of this story should have said that the 23 protesters were arrested outside the Dirksen Building office of Sen. Bob Corker, and not Sen. Susan Collins.

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