Three-hour Supreme Court civil disobedience undeterred by counter protesters and massive police presence
WASHINGTON -- Early this morning, around 150 activists deployed a mobile direct action blockading multiple intersections surrounding the Supreme Court. The protest disrupted business as usual at the Court, which is expected to rule [in favor of conservative and corporate interests] in several influential cases in the coming weeks.
“The Supreme Court is a corrupt institution,” said Sadie Kuhns, who was attending with the group SCOTUS6, referring to the 6 conservative Supreme Court justices. “SCOTUS intends to strip us of basic human rights we've already fought for and won. We will not simply watch Roe v. Wade fall without a fight, because our rights are not up for debate.”
Just before 7AM, at least 20 police cars and 16 police officers on bikes awaited the activists. The activists’ vehicle carrying props and other equipment for the demonstration, as well as its driver, were detained for nearly an hour while they picked through props, art work, and other equipment in the vehicle. Around $2000 of equipment and props were taken by police.
Despite a small number of counter protesters, numerous police officers, and the early start time, the crowd was raucous and lively, and marched undeterred and unafraid. Starting out from Stanton Park, the protesters chanted with signs and home-made drums while over 50 police officers looked on. Among the crowd were children and elders, including one older woman with a walker who weathered the sweltering heat.
At around 8:30 AM, the group split off into different directions, blocking 1st Street NE and Constitution Ave, as well as 2nd Street NE and East Capitol Street, effectively the front and back vehicle entrances of the Supreme Court.
At one intersection Hope Neyer, an organizer of the action, spoke to the crowd. “Everybody loves somebody who had an abortion. And everyone knows someone who will need an abortion some day,” she said, addressing the potential repeal of Roe v. Wade.
“We will not be able to rely on our health care providers, so we will have to rely on each other,” she added.
Around 9:15AM, officers from the Department of Homeland Security started calling warnings to the protesters that they would be arrested. The activists responded by continuing to adjust and move to different intersections. The full group reunited at 2nd Street NE and East Capitol Street, which was held in total for nearly three hours.
“We stood by our allies, adapted to difficult circumstances, and we will continue to do so until our rights are protected,” said Jess Joltes of the participating group Whatever It Takes 2022. “We successfully occupied SCOTUS during the announcements of the rulings due to our resiliency and flexibility.”
