Some 17 House Democrats—including Assistant Speaker Katherine Clark, the fourth highest-ranked Democrat in the House—were arrested Tuesday afternoon at an abortion rights protest outside the Supreme Court. US Capitol Police said in a tweet that they made a total of 35 arrests, including 17 members of Congress, for "Crowding, Obstructing, or Incommoding" after protesters blocked the street in front of the court. The arrested lawmakers include Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ayanna Pressley, and Carolyn Maloney, Axios reports.
The protesters, who wore green bandanas reading "Won't Back Down," marched from the Capitol to the Supreme Court, CNN reports. When officers ordered them to "cease and desist" within minutes of their arrival, they sat down on the street and were handcuffed and taken away one by one to a taped-off area. "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 after her arrest. The lawmakers and other protesters are expected to be fined and released.
"Proud to march with my Democratic colleagues and get arrested for women’s rights, abortion rights, the rights for people to control their own bodies," tweeted Rep. Jackie Speier. The Supreme Court has been fenced off since soon after the release in late May of the decision overturning Roe v. Wade. (More abortion rights stories.)
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