House Democrat Arrested By Capitol Police – Hank Johnson Led Away In Handcuffs After Protesting Voting Rights Law
The battle for voting rights rages on: Republicans claim they simply want voting laws for the sake of election integrity, while Democrats claim such rules violate the voting rights of certain people.
But no matter what you think, you’re not allowed to break the law. Numerous protests have erupted throughout the country in 2021, and some elected officials have attended.
However, that’s not going to stop police from doing their job.
Simply because you’re a politician doesn’t give you the right to illegally protest, as Georgia Democrat Hank Johnson found out on Thursday.
Johnson led a group of protesters railing against Senate “inaction” on voting legislation and filibuster reform: he gave a speech at the voting rights rally in front of the Supreme Court.
He was joined by other members of the Congressional Black Caucus, including Democratic representatives like Jamaal Bowman of New York and Emanuel Cleaver of Missouri.
After the speech, they all marched to the Senate office building and chanted, “This is what democracy looks like.”
But Capitol Police refused to look the other way.
From Fox News:
Georgia Democrat Rep. Hank Johnson was arrested by Capitol police Thursday while protesting Senate ‘inaction’ on voting legislation and filibuster reform.
Capitol Police told Fox News they arrested 10 individuals for ‘unlawfully demonstrating’ in front of the Hart Senate building.
Shortly after, Rep. Johnson shared a tweet of him being led away in handcuffs:
.@BlackCaucus I was arrested today protesting against Senate inaction on voting rights legislation & filibuster reform. In the spirit of my dear friend and mentor – the late Congressman John Lewis – I was getting in #goodtrouble pic.twitter.com/JjN51mRpaC
— Rep. Hank Johnson (@RepHankJohnson) July 22, 2021
Johnson’s office later confirmed that police had arrested other members of the group, and claimed they were only protesting “voter suppression bills and laws throughout the country.”
But now, they’re all facing the charge of “crowding, obstructing, or incommoding.”
Rep. Johnson’s arrest comes just a week after Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-OH) was arrested on July 15, who basically did the same thing.
Beatty was taken into custody along with 8 other protesters for “illegal demonstration activity,” and Beatty said something similar to Johnson after his arrest:
I stand in solidarity with Black women and allies across the country in defense of our constitutional right to vote.
We have come too far and fought too hard to see everything systematically dismantled and restricted by those who wish to silence us.
Democrats can continue to say the laws somehow infringe on Constitutional rights, but most Republicans and many American citizens disagree.
They say the laws are just in place to prevent voter fraud. And right now, election integrity remains a critical topic — and it’ll become even more important the closer we get to the midterm elections in 2022.
We’ll have to see which laws are in place when that time finally comes.
Key Takeaways:
- Democratic Rep. Hank Johnson was arrested, along with a group of protesters, for “unlawfully demonstrating.”
- They were protesting voting laws and claiming the rules represented “voter suppression.”
- This happens just 1 week after another Democrat, Rep. Joyce Beatty, was arrested for the same thing.
Source: Fox News