Sixteen members of Congress were arrested on Tuesday during a protest on abortion rights in front of the Supreme Court.
Among the lawmakers arrested at the rally include Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass., Rep. Katherine Clark, D-Mass., Rep. Cori Bush, D-Mo., Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., Rep. Nydia Velazquez, D-N.Y., Rep. Alma Adams, D-N.C., Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., Rep. Sara Jacobs, D-Calif., Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Calif., and Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-Texas.
U.S. Capitol Police first tweeted about demonstrators “starting to block First Street” in Northeast Washington, D.C. around 1:15 p.m. About 30 minutes later, police reported that they’d made 34 arrests for “Crowding, Obstructing or Incommoding.”
“It is against the law to block traffic, so officers are going to give our standard three warnings before they start making arrests,” the tweet said initially.
Rep. Ayanna Pressley tweeted out video of her arrest on social media and her spokesperson also issued a statement.
“Today, Congresswoman Pressley joined her colleagues and grassroots advocates for a non-violent civil disobedience to protest the Supreme Court’s cruel and callous decision to overturn Roe v. Wade and strip away abortion rights for everyone who called America home,” the statement read in part.
Clark tweeted out a photo of her arrest and a spokesperson for the Assistant Speaker of the House also issued a statement following Clark’s arrest.
“The extremist Republican Party is determined to take us back in time and take away our rights . I refuse to stand on the sidelines as their rampage continues.
Rep. Cori Bush tweeted “The Supreme Court will not stop us. Event though they arrested us, we won’t stop our organizing, agitating and legislating for justice.”
Rep. Adam’s staff took over her Twitter account after the arrest and just after 4:30 in the afternoon tweeted, “I’ve paid bail, and I’m on my way to vote.”
“There is no democracy if women do not have control over their own bodies and decisions about their health, including reproductive care” Maloney said in a statement after her arrest.
Ocasio-Cortez also posted about her arrest on social media.
Last week, the house took up two pieces of legislation in the House to codify abortion rights following the Supreme Court’s decision in June to overturn Roe v. Wade.
