They returned on Monday, Sept. 24. Plans were made on the assumption that there would be testimony, or a vote, or something happening that day. These had to be changed when the confirmation vote was postponed once again so more testimony could be heard on Sept. 27.
The number of people who arrived at St. Stephen’s Episcopal church for training on Sunday night was double what it had been the week before, largely because a bus brought students from Yale, where Kavanaugh had gone to school. This gave the protesters a younger cast. It also brought more men, who were roughly a third of the Yale students compared to ten percent of the older group. Most out-of-town protesters slept at the church, but the Yale students had managed to find accommodations with Yale alumni in DC. T-shirts were passed out saying "Believe WOMEN" to be worn the next day over black.
A few hundred people gathered at the Supreme Court at 8:15 a.m. SEIU local 32BJ passed out ponchos to protect them from the drizzle. After listening to speakers, they marched to the Hart SOB, where it took a while for all to go through security. Signs and banners had to be rolled up and put into bags to get them in. From there they dispersed to the offices of different Republican Senators. Of the 50 people who went to Senator Susan Collins' office in the Dirksen Building, 19 were from Maine. Surrounded by the press they tried to get in to her office to tell their stories. Instead, a young male staffer came out to listen to them in the hallway. While he stood there patiently, Capitol Hill cops repeatedly told everyone to clear the aisles. They moved protesters to one side and press to the other to create a narrow pathway that constantly closed up, only to be opened again.
Demonstrators protest against the nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to be a Supreme Court Justice outside of the office of US Senator Susan Collins, Republican of Maine, on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, September 24, 2018. Photo ©2018 CNBC
After five testimonies, protesters decided that the time had come to court arrest. They gathered together outside Collins’ office, raised their fists, began chanting and sat down. Police moved everyone else other than credentialed press 50 feet up the hallway. They gave the required three warnings that anyone who didn’t want to be arrested should move back. Once this was done, they followed the standard arrest procedure. By the time they were finished, 27 had been arrested, including several students from Bowdoin College who had flown in the night before.
In the meantime, protesters visited other offices. They subsequently gathered in the Rotunda of the Russell SOB, where 82 were arrested. This arrest was intended to be one of the male allies, who were asked not to be arrested with the women at Collins’ office. But quite a few women joined the men so it was a mixed group who were taken to the police processing center on K St. Those not in custody slowly regrouped in the Hart atrium, where they hung out until 1:00. Planned Parenthood took over a bench where they gave out instructions on phone-banking and letter-writing. Some women help up sheets saying "I believe.... (Ford, Survivors, etc...)" to give their testimony online for posting to social media.
After their numbers grew to a couple hundred, Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-HA) appeared. She spoke to those in the atrium and posed for photos. Then they marched back to the Supreme Court, where they listened to several female speakers introduced by WomensMarch leaders. Most slowly dispersed as a soft rain kissed the air. A couple dozen made it back to Hart SOB, where many of them occupied Sen. Grassley’s office – again. A few regaled a male staffer with their stories. When they ran out of things to say, they just sat there, eating pizza and waiting for instructions.
Wednesday night more buses rolled in, though not as many as on Sunday. Another meeting was held at St. Stephen’s church to provide instructions. More t-shirts were passed out to wear the next day. The t-shirt d’jour was "I AM A SURVIVOR AND I VOTE," but black was still the recommended color. The only plan was to get there early, line up and try to get into the hearing at 226 Dirksen to listen to Ford and Kavanaugh testify.
Some did. A few others sat down next to the door. The rest were directed to an overflow room elsewhere in the building. Unlike Sept. 4, members of the public were not rotated in and out of the room. Entrances to the entire second floor Dirksen SOB were blocked by police – stairs, elevators and hallways. Anyone who did not have the proper credential simply could not get near the hearing room.
Those who came late went to the offices of various Senators to listen to the hearing if they could. (I sat in Chuck Schumer’s office in Hart.) Sen. Grassley’s office, with its large TV screen and accommodating staff, was still "headquarters" Several dozens gathered in the Hart atrium where they stood in a kind of protest – as much as the police would allow without calling it a protest subject to arrest. Holding up signs was considered a protest, but those merely hanging from hands or tucked under arms were not. Signs on the floor were ignored. Messages on t-shirts or other clothing were not considered a protest. Nor were those messages written on raised palms such as "survivor" and "believe women." Chanting was considered a protest, but not speaking.
A new confrontation surfaced when a couple dozen women and a few men walked into the Hart atrium from the connecting hallway to Dirksen SOB. Their t-shirts said WOMEN FOR KAVANAUGH and I STAND WITH BRETT. Organized by Concerned Women for America, founded in 1979 as a conservative Christian organization for women opposed to feminism, it held a rally in the Lower Senate Park before entering Dirksen SOB. The police quickly moved to keep the groups separate with a large pathway between them. After a very peaceful confrontation, the "pros" eventually dissipated. Most went to Grassley’s office, where they mixed with the "antis" already there. There were a few tense moments, but over time the "antis" left for more comfortable territory. They found it in the office of Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA), down the hall at the front entrance to Hart.
In the meantime, Planned Parenthood had taken over two benches in the atrium from which they passed out their own t-shirt, along with buttons saying BELIEVE SURVIVORS. They also organized letter writing. Sens. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) greeted the protestors, speaking briefly and posing for photos.
When the Committee broke for lunch, protestors from all over Hart and Dirksen went outside to march as it began to rain. Well over a thousand people rallied on the west side of the Capitol, then marched to the Supreme Court to rally again. U. S. Capitol police blocked the streets so they could march without stopping for traffic. As usual, the Supreme Court Police would not let any protesters stand on the steps. As the rain became heavy, many left. Others blocked the street in front of the court, leading to the arrests of 59.
Kavanaugh began his own testimony a little before 3:00. That was the time chosen by protesters for a healing circle in the atrium led by Tarana Burke, creator of the "MeToo" campaign. Protesters formed several concentric circles and Burke began a call and response. "I’m here wrapping my arms around you" she stated. Leaflets with five of these calls had been passed out so protestors would know what words to use. Although speaking by itself had not previously been deemed a protest subject to arrest, a lone U. S. Capitol cop walked up to the group and told it that if they didn’t stop, they would be arrested. Usually, when arrests are threatened, a lot of cops appear. Although there was only the one officer, these protesters didn’t intend to be arrested, so after a couple threats they raised their fists in silent protest and filed out of the front of the Hart building.
Those still inside clustered in Kamala Harris’ office, whose public space was larger than Grassley’s. When Sen. Harris returned after the Committee adjourned, she was surprised to be greeted by about 50 jubilant supporters. She spoke to them, took questions and posted for photos.
On Friday, protesters arrived early, expecting a 9:30 vote by the Judiciary Committee. They gathered in the hallway, blew whistles, stamped and chanted. They generally raised a ruckus until ? were arrested. When the vote was postponed, protesters visited Senators’ offices to tell more stories. At 1:30 the Judiciary Committee voted in favor of Kavanaugh’s confirmation, with the ten Democrats voting no and the 11 Republicans voting yes. Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ), one of the Republicans who had some doubts, stated that his vote was on condition that an FBI investigation was held before the full Senate vote. He had reached this agreement with the Democrats on the Committee but admitted that it wasn’t within his power to cast a provisional vote to effect an investigation. Nonetheless, by the end of the day, the President had ordered an FBI investigation into the women’s accusations to be completed within a week.
The protesters weren’t quite ready to go home so they gathered in the atrium for a few speeches. U. S. Capitol cops gathered in small groups in back hallways, relatively out-of-sight. They were obviously waiting for something, but it wasn’t obvious what it was. Half an hour later six women dropped three banners from the third floor Hart balcony facing the rally in the atrium. Within minutes the police had grabbed their banners and arrested them.
The rally broke up and the women dispersed to the offices of the remaining Senators – two Republicans and two Democrats – whose vote was still unknown. Those who went to Sen. Collins office were allowed inside to tell their stories to the same young staffer who had taken notes on women’s testimony before. That was his job. When asked, he said he would prepare summaries of what he was told and give them to the Senator. After twenty minutes protesters left Collins’ office. They gathered in the hallway to chant for a few minutes before leaving. Although this was an arrestable offense, there wasn’t a cop in sight.
©2018 Jo Freeman for SeniorWomen.com
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