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Dozens of Protesters Arrested as Brett Kavanaugh Speaks

Capitol Police arrest 57 after sit-in in front of the Supreme Court

A woman is loaded into a police van after being arrested for sitting-in on First Street outside of the Supreme Court as high court nominee Brett Kavanaugh testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee. (Sarah Silbiger/CQ Roll Call)
A woman is loaded into a police van after being arrested for sitting-in on First Street outside of the Supreme Court as high court nominee Brett Kavanaugh testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee. (Sarah Silbiger/CQ Roll Call)

As nominee Brett Kavanaugh was delivering a fiery, tear-filled statement before the Senate Judiciary panel, police were getting out the zip ties in front of the Supreme Court. 

Dozens of protesters were arrested Thursday as crowds flooded the Capitol. After a sit-in on First Street NE, Capitol Police officers removed what appeared to be a clerical collar as they confiscated one detainee’s belongings.

“I am somebody, and I deserve equality right here right now,” a protester chanted as rain fell on the umbrella-dotted crowd.

Fifty-seven people were arrested for sitting in the street, and two were arrested for crossing a police line, according to Capitol Police spokeswoman Eva Malecki.

[‘I See You, Senators’: Kavanaugh Protesters Pour Into the Capitol]

The sit-in was planned by the Women’s March, according to the group’s Twitter account. Organizers held off on civil disobedience earlier in the day out of respect for Kavanaugh’s accuser, Christine Blasey Ford, according to Women’s March co-leader Linda Sarsour.

Ford was on the Hill to testify about her allegation that Trump’s Supreme Court pick sexually assaulted her while both were in high school.

But as soon as Kavanaugh took the microphone — alternately shouting and crying in a high-stakes televised hearing — all bets were off.

“I don’t give a f— what Brett Kavanaugh has to say,” Sarsour said earlier in the day, hinting at the group’s plans for the afternoon. “He’s going to lie through his teeth, just like he has been.”

Katherine Tully-McManus contributed to this report.

 

Senate Buildings Crowded With Protests For and Against Kavanaugh as Blasey Ford Testifies

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