Disruptions, arrests and harassment continued Wednesday during the second day of Senate hearings on the confirmation of U.S. Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.
Several prominent abortion activists were among the 70 protesters arrested Tuesday during the opening hearings, according to the AP. Among them was Women’s March leader Linda Sarsour who was arrested after her screaming interrupted the hearing, WOAI Radio reports. Some of them were even caught getting paid for their protests.
A Politico photo showed another protester being pulled out of the room holding a sign that read “Roe – Yes, Kava – Nope, Codepink.” Another could be heard yelling “Trump’s puppet” as police dragged her away. Police said the 70 face charges of disorderly conduct.
The AP described the hearings thus far as a “shout-and-arrest pattern” with protesters shouting every few minutes to interrupt the hearing before being hauled out by police.
It is not clear how many people were arrested Wednesday. However, there likely will be dozens more. LifeNews observed numerous interruptions Wednesday and protesters being pulled out by police. A National Review reporter observed one protester being removed after interrupting Kavanaugh to scream, “Abortion saved my child’s life.”
Here’s more from the report:
The Capitol Police can’t close the room to the public and can’t keep out people who look like they might disrupt the hearing. So there’s no choice but to let everybody in and wait for them to misbehave before removing them.
The protesters are part of a nationwide campaign to disrupt the confirmation process. A broad coalition of activist groups, including abortion rights groups, gun control organizations and labor unions, has converged on Washington. The demonstrators fear that Kavanaugh’s confirmation would shift the Supreme Court’s balance for years on issues like abortion rights, LGBT freedoms and gun control.
Alison Dreith, executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice Missouri, also was arrested Tuesday during the protest.
“My goal is for this nomination to not go through,” Dreith told reporters. “The stakes have never been higher.”
SIGN THE PETITION: Vote to Confirm Supreme Court Nominee Brett Kavanaugh
Other abortion activists who were arrested included actress Piper Perabo, #VOTEPROCHOICE co-founder Heidi Sieck and UltraViolet Executive Director Shaunna Thomas, according to The Cut.
“The outcome of this will impact our generation and our children’s generation,” Thomas told the liberal news outlet. “[Kavanaugh] is on the wrong side of the American people, and we know that if we put him on court, he will overturn Roe v. Wade, criminalize abortion, gut the Affordable Care Act, roll back LGBTQ rights, end affirmative action, and chip away at voting rights.”
At one point Tuesday, Kavanaugh’s wife took their young daughters out of the room because of the nastiness of the protesters.
It appears some of the other protesters may have been paid to cause a ruckus at the hearing.
Dr. Tom Schlueter, of Texas, who attended the hearing, said he observed people being given cash as they waited in line for a seat in the Senate hearing room, The Gateway Pundit reports.
“One thing was there were people who had come along… who had a bag of money, and people would hand them a piece of paper, and then they would give them money. So we know money was exchanged for some of the people to be here, just to protest,” Schlueter said.
“There was no depth to what their understanding, they were just here to be a disruption, protesters,” he continued. “They were actually told, we heard them say this, ‘when you go in, we want you to yell, to scream, and even possibly to get arrested.’”
LifeNews has reported other times when pro-abortion groups also appeared to be paying protesters to attend political events.
