A Democratic congressman was arrested Thursday while participating in a voting rights demonstration near the U.S. Capitol.
Rep. Hank Johnson, D-Georgia, said he and a handful of other protesters were arrested while calling on the Senate to pass voting rights legislation and filibuster reform.
Video shared by Johnson on Twitter shows the Congressman chanting "whose streets? Our streets. Whose house? Our house," with his hand zip-tied behind his back.
"I was arrested today protesting against Senate inaction on voting rights legislation & filibuster reform. In the spirit of my dear friend and mentor – the late Congressman John Lewis – I was getting in #goodtrouble," Johnson tweeted.
.@BlackCaucus I was arrested today protesting against Senate inaction on voting rights legislation & filibuster reform. In the spirit of my dear friend and mentor – the late Congressman John Lewis – I was getting in #goodtrouble pic.twitter.com/JjN51mRpaC
— Rep. Hank Johnson (@RepHankJohnson) July 22, 2021
In a statement to USA Today, the Capitol Police said that Johnson and nine others were arrested for "unlawfully demonstrating" and charged with "crowding, obstructing or causing an inconvenience."
Johnson is the second elected representative to be arrested near the Capitol this month. Capitol Police arrested Rep. Joyce Beatty on July 15 as she participated in a voting rights protest.
House Democrats have been urging the Senate to pass the For the People Act, legislation that would expand voting rights, ban partisan gerrymandering and change campaign finance laws. Though the bill passed the House earlier this year, it has stalled in the Senate and faces an uphill battle for passage given Republican opposition.
Meanwhile, the Brennan Center for Justice reports that 18 states have enacted 30 laws that restrict voting access — many of them proposed by Republican lawmakers under the false guise that widespread voter fraud took place in the 2020 election.
