Hundreds Arrested On Capitol Hill Protesting Congress

April 12, 2016
by Robert Fowler


Hundreds of protesters flocked to the U.S. Capitol to demand campaign finance reform and the restoration of voting rights.

Over 400 were escorted away in plastic handcuffs by police, vowing that this was just the beginning of a week-long effort.

On April 11, sympathizers of Democracy Spring, a collective of activist groups against big money in the U.S. political system, staged a peaceful protest in Washington D.C.

The movement had begun on April 2, when members of the progressive coalition began a roughly 150 mile march from Philadelphia to the nation’s capitol, according to Vice News.

The majority of the protesters who convened at the U.S. Capitol had not participated in the long march, but had instead traveled from all corners of the country.

Hundreds sat on the steps of the U.S. Capitol and demanded that Congress pass legislation to address unlimited dark money in the political system, district gerrymandering and voter suppression, NPR reports.

The Democracy Spring campaign director Kai Newkirk, head of the progressive activist group 99Rise, kicked off the protest by addressing the gathering crowd.

“We send a message — to everyone in our country who needs a government that represents us all — that this House is your House too, and now is the time to stand up and take it back.”

The sit-in was loosely organized, good-natured and peaceful. Many protesters had signs citing Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, although the collective has insisted that it is not endorsing any particular candidate.

Estimates the overall turnout range from 600 to 1,000. Several protesters were frustrated by the relatively small number.

Capitol police spent the entire afternoon managing the crowd. After cordoning the majority of the crowd, officers waited for buses arrived to escort protesters one by one into custody.

“More than 400 individuals have been arrested for unlawful demonstration activity, and are being processed using mass arrest procedures,” the U.S. Capitol Police said in a statement, according to CNN.

A Capitol Police officer on the scene said that all the protesters without outstanding warrants would be processed, fined and then released.

Democracy Spring has planned to stage several more protests throughout the week until April 16. They expect a minimum of 3,500 people to join them at the U.S. Capitol.

Sources: CNN, NPR, Vice News / Photo Credit: Peter Overby / NPR

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