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Rev. Jesse Jackson, Rev. William Barber and about 20 other activists were among those arrested after a nonviolent protest outside the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, multiple news outlets report.
After leading a crowd in a march to the Capitol, Jackson and Barber were arrested for alleged crowding or obstructing, WTTG reported.
It was unclear Thursday how long they were held or what penalties they might face.
A spokesperson for the Capitol Police did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
In a speech, Jackson hinted that he anticipated being arrested during the protest, sayingaccording to Religion News Service, “We come not as an insurrection group, but as a resurrection group,” adding that “today we must fill up the jails.”
On CNN’sCuomo Prime Timeon Wednesday night, Barberspoke about the arrestsand the importance of voters' rights.
“We need people to be able to vote freely and fairly. The people led us today, and they said since [Sen. Joseph] Manchin and [Sen. Mitch] McConnell wouldn’t answer them for a meeting … and they said we’re willing to put our bodies on the line. This is not optional. We cannot have voter suppression in this country.”
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The For the People Act stalled in the Senate on Tuesday after it fell short of the 60 votes needed to overcome a GOP-backed filibuster. The procedural vote of 50-50 meant that the bill did not move to the floor for a debate or an amendment process that would shape the eventual legislation.
Anticipating the outcome in advance of the vote, Democrats were already criticizing Republicans for their opposition, saying voting against such a measure was akin to denying people the right to vote.
The GOP, which has supported a raft of voting restrictions across the country to combat fraud that experts say doesn’t exist at a widespread level, said this legislation would have intruded on local authority over elections. Other Republicans say their position is about ensuring election integrity.
On Wednesday, a group of civil rights organizations announced that they would host a “March On for Voting Rights” Aug. 28 to coincide with the 58th anniversary of the historic March on Washington where Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech.
“It disheartens me to say that as a country and society, we are not even close to where my father hoped we would be since delivering his ‘I Have a Dream’ speech 58 years ago,” Martin Luther King III, chairman of the Board for the Drum Major Institute, said in a press releaseannouncing the march. “I think my father would be greatly disappointed in where we are at this particular moment, but he would not give up on the nation.”
source: people.com
