More than 200 arrests: NPR

A protester is taken away by police after interrupting the second day of the confirmation hearing of the appointment of Judge Brett Kavanaugh, Supreme Court candidate, to Capitol Hill.

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A protester is taken away by police after interrupting the second day of the confirmation hearing of the appointment of Judge Brett Kavanaugh, Supreme Court candidate, to Capitol Hill.

Win McNamee / Getty Images

It took less than two minutes for the first protester to be removed from the opening day of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh's testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Seconds later, a second protester was kicked out of the courtroom, followed by another, followed by another.

"It's a mockery and a travesty of justice," shouted a protester this week. "We can not trust Kavanaugh," shouted another. Some protesters wore shirts that said things like "I'm at stake". Others arrived on Capitol Hill dressed in characters from The servant's tale, the story of a dystopian future in which women are treated as state property.

According to US Capitol police, at least 227 protesters were arrested between the start of Tuesday's hearings and the end of testimony on Friday. Most of the people charged this week with disorderly driving, piling up or hindering fines of $ 35 or $ 50.

Such events are not new on Capitol Hill. The televised hearings are open to the public and, as such, the bursts of voice that have shaken most of the judge's testimony have become a standard feature of large-scale hearings. But the level of opposition demonstrated in the courtroom has highlighted the level of anger among progressive activists over a choice that would cement the Conservative majority of the Supreme Court for years, if not decades to come.

"Interrupting the hearings allowed us to go straight to the Americans and tell them," We will not be silenced and we must be as indignant as we are, "said Linda Sarsour, Co-Chair of the March women and one of the organizers of this week's events.

The women's march leaders were part of a broad coalition of organizations, including abortion rights groups, labor unions, and gun control advocates, in addition to women's rights activists. Origin of this week's activism. The Women's March has partnered with the Center for People's Democracy to help coordinate interruptions during the hearing and will help protesters who are fined or arrested with legal and financial support, Sarsour said.

Sarsour said that she was the first person to shout the first day of the hearing. It was one of the 70 people arrested that day. This included Piper Perabo actress, known for his role in the series Secret affairs on the USA network.

Planned Parenthood and its political arm, the Planned Parenthood Action Fund, also organized members from across the country, said CNN Dana Singiser, vice president of public policy and government affairs at Planned Parenthood. Their efforts included sitting in the courtroom, attending a night vigil on Capitol Hill, writing letters to senators and organizing meetings between legislators and electors.

The disruption throughout the hearing put Senators on the front of the Judiciary Committee. Ben Sasse, R-Neb., Described the protests as "hysteria," and Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, m said"These people are so out of line that they should not even be allowed in the doggone room." Many of the explosions occurred with the presence of several friends and family members closest to Kavanaugh, including his parents, his wife, his children and even former basketball team players who He was training.

In an interview with The daily caller Tuesday, President Trump said: "I do not know why they do not deal with such a situation because it's terrible … I think it's embarrassing for the country to allow the protesters, you do not even know which side the protesters were on. "

Despite these criticisms, Mr. Sarsour said that "women who have been arrested in recent days" have helped to "generate the political will of Senate Democrats to show moral courage". She cited the New Jersey Democrat's proposal, Cory Booker, on Thursday to issue a note on racial profiling written by Kavanaugh but titled "Confidential Committee," meaning that Senators could review it but not make it public. "We think the movement helped to encourage that," she said.

But an aide to the chairman of the committee, Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, noted that Booker staff and other Democrat aides who had asked for some of these documents to be made public were informed before the Thursday session that the publication had been approved.

At least some Democrats have expressed frustration with the explosions of this week's hearings.

"I think the average independent voter – the working class family who voted for Trump last time but is reconsidering now – people like them do not think that screaming in an audience room is a particularly effective strategy or a signal that they want to belong to, "said Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, DR.I, in an interview with NPR's Audie Cornish on Wednesday. "So I think it has not been helpful for a cause I can see."

With Republicans holding a slim majority of 51 to 49 in the Senate, it seems unlikely that efforts to defeat Kavanaugh's inauguration will be successful. Grassley said on Tuesday that he was planning a vote in committee on the appointment in mid-September. The full vote of confirmation from the Senate is expected to take place at the end of the month, in order to have Kavanaugh sit down when the Supreme Court opens its next term in early October.