A major disruption broke out in the U.S. Capitol late Thursday — and it ended with the arrest of Rep. Joyce Beatty, D-Ohio and eight others.
Video captured the entire incident on camera.
According to reports, it was around 3:30 p.m. when Beatty — chair of the Congressional Black Caucus — lead a protest through the Capitol Building building, Capitol Police said.
They walked arm in arm through the hall and called on the Senate to abolish the filibuster and pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act.
The Capitol protest seemed like what was a continuation of a rally prior, where Beatty explained the gathering:
“We have everything to lose,” she said.
“We’re here today because we will continue to come, and to stand up, to protect our voting rights. We will do this until we pass the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Act.”
You can take a look at video of the march and arrest — provided by Reuters — below:
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
“Ain’t gonna let racism turn me around,” the protesters can be heard chanting.
And as Beatty is being arrested, she, along with the other protestors can be heard yelling, “fight for justice.”
Critics of the John lewis Voting Act claim that it would bring unprecedented measures to the election laws in the U.S. — such as requiring individual states to seek approval from the federal government before they can be approved to change voting laws.
According to Fox Business, the act’s main purpose is to “address a 2013 Supreme Court ruling that made it more difficult for the federal government to block racially discriminatory voting laws and redistricting proposals.”
Big tech has also jumped into the fight. As of Wednesday, more than 150 companies (such as Google, Facebook, and Apple) signed a letter urging Congress to sign the act.
But Daily Caller writes that the Senate is expected to swiftly filibuster the act when it arrives on the floor.
As for Beatty, she had a final message following her arrest.
“You can arrest me,” she wrote on Twitter. “You can’t stop me. You can’t silence me.”
You can arrest me. You can’t stop me. You can’t silence me.
— Rep. Joyce Beatty (@RepBeatty) July 15, 2021
The Horn editorial team