Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and several other high-profile Democrats were arrested in front of the United States Supreme Court on Wednesday, after taking part in a protest in support of abortion rights.
Ocasio-Cortez was with a group of Democratic politicians, including Ilhan Oar, Rashida Tlaib and Cori Bush, who gathered at the steps of the US Capitol with other protestors and marched to the supreme court.
The group of protestors were shouting “our bodies, our choice” and “hands off our bodies”, among other chants. They proceeded to sit down in the middle of the street, before being escorted away by police. The action was led by organisers and activists with CPD Action.
Capitol police said they made 35 arrests, including 17 members of Congress, for “crowding, obstructing or incommoding”.
Ocasio-Cortez posted videos of the protest on social media, writing that of the 17 politicians arrested, 16 were women. She also posted an image of the $50 fine she received from the police.
“This is my charge and fine. Worth it! #BansOffOurBodies” she wrote on her Instagram story.
Fellow Democrat Ilhan Omar shared a video of herself being escorted from the protest by police, and wrote on Twitter: “Today I was arrested while participating in a civil disobedience action with my fellow Members of Congress outside the Supreme Court.”
“I will continue to do everything in my power to raise the alarm about the assault on our reproductive rights!”
Cori Bush posted a photo of a group of Democrat women on Twitter, writing, “The Supreme Court will not stop us. Even though they arrested us, we won’t stop our organising, agitating and legislating for justice. We got us.”
72-year-old Jackie Speier was also among the group of Democrats arrested. She later wrote that she had never been arrested before, but she could “hear the late, great Congressman John Lewis imploring me to ‘make some noise and get in good trouble.’”
“We must be willing to speak out for patients who have the right to basic health care, and the fundamental right to bodily autonomy,” she said in a statement.
Image: Cori Bush/Twitter