Capitol Police officers have arrested Democratic Ohio Congresswoman Joyce Beatty and eight other people for protesting in a restricted zone in the United States Capitol this Thursday.
Beatty, the leader of the Congressional Black Caucus, led the protesters inside the Hart Senate Office Building Atrium at around 3:30 pm, as the Capitol Police reports. The group shouted “stop the filibuster,” and demanded that the Senate pass the John Lewis Voting Act, which was proposed in the 116th Congress but had not made its way into the 117th.
Police arrested nine people including Democratic Congresswoman Joyce Beatty, who chairs the Congressional Black Caucus, in a prohibited area on Capitol Grounds during a pro-voting rights demonstration pic.twitter.com/kWZjpJrwYz
— Reuters (@Reuters) July 15, 2021
“We are here today because we will keep coming, and standing up, to guard our rights. We will do this until we succeed in passing the John Lewis Rights Act,” Beatty said during the rally preceding the protest. “We could lose everything.”
“We may as well still get the dogs and the hoses, because we do not have this Voting Rights Act,” Beatty said.
The John Lewis Voting Rights Act would force states to get pre-clearance from the Dept. of Justice before they change their election laws. The Supreme Court removed a provision enforcing that some southern states get pre-clearance in the 2013 court case of Shelby County v. Holder.
Former Virginia A.G. and DHS official Ken Cuccinelli said the requirement was like needing federal permission for “transporting voting machines from a cafeteria to a gym” during a hearing this week.
Republicans are anticipated to filibuster the John Lewis Act should it reach the Senate to be voted on.
You can arrest me. You can’t stop me. You can’t silence me.
— Rep. Joyce Beatty (@RepBeatty) July 15, 2021
This comes at a time when President Joe Biden has come under fire for his attempt to spin the ongoing Republican drive, across many states, for election security as an attack on voter rights. This is not working as the Democrats have hoped. With most Americans being in favor of Voter ID and other election security measures.
Even worse for Democrats are the colliding narratives of the election audit findings which are occurring in Pennsylvania and Arizona right now. If the truth comes out about the 2020 election, and reveals Democrats stole the election, during a time when such election loopholes are being discussed, it would destroy the credibility of Democrats forever.
Author: Blake Ambrose
