The U.S. Capitol Police arrested more than 180 people near the Supreme Court in a protest Thursday for abortion rights, according to officials.
The protesters who were detained sat down in the middle of an intersection and interrupted traffic near the National Mall. Capitol Police said it had given the group three warnings before the 181 arrests were made. Those arrested were charged with crowding, obstructing, or incommoding the intersection, the Capitol Police told the Washington Examiner.
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Politicians, pro-abortion rights activists, and people from Hollywood were among those who protested the recent Supreme Court ruling that overturned the landmark ruling in Roe v. Wade and returned the issue of abortion back to the states. Freaks and Geeks actress Busy Philipps was among those arrested, according to a tweet from VICE. Philipps told the House Judiciary Committee in 2019 that she had an abortion and has been a vocal supporter of abortion access since.
Rep. Judy Chu (D-CA) also appeared to have been arrested at the protest, as shown in videos. Chu’s team did not respond to the Washington Examiner’s request for comment. Chu did confirm her presence at the protest on social media, sharing videos of the protest on Twitter, along with supportive messages.
“Proud to join activists and community leaders today to say loud and clear — we WON’T back down. We will NOT go back. #bansoffourbodies,” the congresswoman tweeted.
California Democratic Rep. Judy Chu was arrested, along with other demonstrators Thursday, as they gathered near the Supreme Court to protest the Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. Chu and others held signs in a group which blocked streets in Washington, D.C. pic.twitter.com/RgJ0HN20sa
— CBS News (@CBSNews) June 30, 2022
The protest came on the final day of the Supreme Court’s current term, which was filled with high-profile rulings, including the Roe reversal, and rulings in favor of gun rights and religion in public schools.
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President Joe Biden said he supported codifying abortion protections as outlined in the original Roe ruling and called on Congress to pass laws protecting access to abortions.
“The most important thing to be clear about is we have to change. I believe we codify Roe v. Wade in the law, and the way to do that is to make sure Congress votes to do that,” Biden said on Thursday, according to CBS News. “If the filibuster gets in the way, it’s like voting rights: It should be — we provide an exception for this. We require an exception to the filibuster for this action.”
