Democratic congressman arrested during voting rights protest
By Devan Cole and Daniella Diaz, CNN
New York Democratic Rep. Jamaal Bowman was arrested Thursday during a voting rights protest at the US Capitol, his office said in a statement.
“Today, Congressman Jamaal Bowman joined a voting rights non-violent direct action at the North Barricade of the US Capitol Building and was arrested by the US Capitol Police,” Marcus Frias, a spokesman for Bowman, said in a statement. “We will provide more information and updates as we gather them.”
US Capitol Police said in a tweet that before noon Thursday, “demonstrators started blocking one side of the North Barricade outside the US Capitol,” adding that officers started making arrests after issuing three warnings to the protesters.
The department said it had arrested more than two dozen people in connection to the protest.
The demonstration comes hours after Democrats failed to change Senate rules in order to pass voting rights legislation ahead of the 2022 midterm elections.
Bowman, who is Black, is now among several other African American Democratic lawmakers who have been arrested in the last year while participating in a voting rights protest at the Capitol.
In August, Rep. Al Green of Texas was arrested while protesting outside the Supreme Court and the US Capitol, while in July, Reps. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee of Texas, Hank Johnson of Georgia and Joyce Beatty of Ohio were all arrested in separate demonstrations.
Bowman’s office said that some of the other demonstrators arrested on Thursday included “faith leaders and youth who have been hunger striking for our democracy.”
Bowman had visited with the youth on Wednesday, according to an image posted to his Twitter account. “Our democracy is on the line, and the Senate must act and pass voting rights immediately. We’re outside the Senate steps sounding the alarm,” he wrote in the tweet.
This story has been updated with additional details Thursday.
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CNN’s Ali Zaslav contributed to this report.
