MP Joyce Beatty arrested while protesting on Capitol Hill

Ohio Congresswoman Joyce Beatty, chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, was arrested Thursday along with eight activists as she demonstrated on Capitol Hill. Beatty was arrested by Capitol Hill police after demonstrating for the right to vote in the atrium of a Senate office building.

“You can stop me. You cannot stop me. You cannot silence me,” Beatty wrote on Twitter after his arrest. Beatty and a group of around 20 protesters demonstrated in the hope of pressuring senators to pass voting rights law.

The group entered the Hart Senate office building chanting spirituals and chanting phrases related to the protection of voting rights, such as “free the vote”, “end the filibuster” and ” fight for justice ”. Capitol Hill police officers arrested Beatty and eight other protesters, zipping their hands together.

According to a press release posted on twitter by Capitol Hill police, protesters were warned three times to stop before being arrested for violating a DC law prohibiting “crowding, obstruction or inconvenience” and prohibiting protesters from ” resume a protest after receiving instructions from a police officer cease participating in a protest The buildings of the Capitol complex are still closed to the public, but members and staff are allowed to bring guests inside.

Beatty and the protesters called on the Senate to pass the For the People Act, a sweeping voting and electoral reform bill that was blocked last month, and the John Lewis Advancement of Voting Rights Act. Lawmakers are still drafting this latest bill, which reinstates a provision of the 1965 law on voting rights emptied by the Supreme Court, and the House is expected to vote on it in the fall.

However, the outlook is grim in the Senate for John Lewis’s Advancement of Voting Rights Act, which bears the name of the late congressman and civil rights icon. The legislation requires 60 votes to advance in the Senate, and Democrats hold a majority of 50 seats. Only one Republican, Senator Lisa Murkowski, supports the bill, which means it would be well below the 60-vote threshold if it goes to the Senate.

Activists called on Senate Democrats to eliminate filibustering, which would allow legislation to advance by simple majority. However, this rule change would require the support of all Democratic senators, and at least two reiterated their opposition when the practice ended.

Senator Joe Manchin, one of the most vocal opponents of eliminating filibuster, met with a group of House Democrats from Texas on Thursday, who fled their condition in an attempt to block controversial bills restricting voting rights. Texas lawmakers met with lawmakers in Washington to convince them to adopt federal voting rights protections.

Manchin told reporters after the meeting that he and Texas lawmakers “fully agree” to their goals, which are “essentially to protect voting rights.”

“We’re working with the voting rights law that we had, started in 1965, and what we’ve evolved into, and we’re basically making a law, a law that protects voting rights, the voting process, democracy. , the safeguards of democracy, that’s it, “Manchin said.” And there shouldn’t be a Republican or Democrat who should oppose it. “

Manchin argued that universal Republican opposition to the For the People Act was because it was too broad, and said he believed they would be prepared to support a smaller bill.

“They had an 800-page bill, they threw it all at them. Let’s get back to basic voting rights, protecting voting rights,” Manchin said.

However, it seems unlikely that the bill will garner more particular support, especially since Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell opposed it.