Representative Hank Johnson Arrested During Capitol Protest

Politics|Representative Hank Johnson is arrested portion protesting connected Capitol Hill.

• July 22, 2021, 7:48 p.m. ET

Representative Hank Johnson, Democrat of Georgia, was among a radical of protesters arrested connected the Capitol analyzable connected Thursday portion demonstrating for voting rights and against the filibuster successful the Senate. The apprehension came 1 week aft the chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus was arrested by U.S. Capitol Police, besides portion demonstrating for voting rights.

“I was arrested contiguous protesting against Senate inaction connected voting rights authorities & filibuster reform,” Mr. Johnson wrote connected Twitter. “In the tone of my beloved person and mentor — the precocious Congressman John Lewis — I was getting successful #goodtrouble.”

In a video posted to his Twitter account, Mr. Johnson could beryllium seen continuing to chant with protesters adjacent aft helium was taken into custody with his hands bound successful zip ties.

Tia Mitchell, a newsman with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution who was connected the scene, posted a video connected Twitter showing Mr. Johnson and different protesters with their arms linked, blocking a doorway. They were warned by U.S. Capitol Police that they could beryllium arrested for demonstrating without a permit, according to Ms. Mitchell.

Last Thursday, Representative Joyce Beatty, Democrat of Ohio, was among 9 radical arrested successful the atrium of a Senate bureau gathering portion demonstrating successful favour of 2 voting rights bills successful Congress, the John Lewis Voting Rights Act and the For the People Act.

Both measures purpose to support and grow entree to voting but look agelong likelihood of becoming instrumentality due to the fact that Democrats, who person a constrictive bulk successful the Senate, request Republican votes to flooded a filibuster. For months, Democrats person expressed frustration implicit their inability to beforehand their expansive voting overhauls arsenic Republican authorities legislatures unreserved to walk laws that restrict voting rights crossed the country.

President Biden past week called the combat against restrictive voting laws the “most important trial of our ideology since the Civil War,” adjacent arsenic helium seemed to admit that the authorities had small anticipation of passing. At a televised municipality hallway connected Wednesday successful Cincinnati, the president defended keeping the filibuster, saying that getting escaped of it would “throw the full Congress into chaos and thing volition get done.”

As quality and images of the arrests dispersed crossed societal media, immoderate noted the opposition betwixt the attraction of the members of Congress, who are some Black, and the hundreds of rioters who trespassed astatine the Capitol connected Jan. 6 who were not detained, though constabulary made efforts to impede them.

In an interrogation with Elle astir her arrest, Ms. Beatty pointed retired the aforesaid discrepancy.

“At the Jan. 6 insurrection, you had thousands of radical damaging national property, rushing and breaking down doors,” Ms. Beatty said. “People were dying. There was thing peaceful astir it. And look what happened. That time determination were nary arrests, nary handcuffs, nary paddy wagons.”