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Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) was one of 28 protesters arrested at the Capitol Thursday as they called for the Senate to alter its 60-vote legislative filibuster to pass two major election reform bills.
Bowman spokesman Marcus Frias said in a statement that the lawmaker — who reps the north Bronx, Yonkers, and most of south Westchester County — took part in a “voting rights non-violent direct action at the North Barricade of the US Capitol Building and was arrested by the US Capitol Police.”
Frias added that Bowman’s office would have more information as it became available.
Capitol Police said that they had repeatedly warned protesters not to block the north barricade of the Capitol complex before making the arrests around noon.
“Just before 12:00 pm, demonstrators started blocking one side of the North Barricade outside the U.S. Capitol,” they tweeted. “We have already issued them three warnings. The demonstrators refused to move out of the driveway, so we are making arrests.”
Bowman and 27 others were charged with “Crowding, Obstructing or Incommoding.” A 28th person was accused of violating Capitol Police crowd control regulations.
The protest took place one day after Senate Democrats failed to garner the support needed to make an exception to the filibuster rule in order to force the voting bills through the chamber. Moderate Democrats Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona voted with all 50 Republicans to keep the current rules in place.
Bowman, a member of the Congressional Black Caucus, has been vocal in his calls for the Senate to scrap the filibuster and pass the election legislation. One protester who was arrested Thursday carried a sign that read: “Justice matters more than Senate rules.”
Democrats argue that reform is necessary because of new voting laws in some GOP-led states that activists claim disenfranchise minority voters. Republicans trashed the legislation as an unconstitutional power grab by Democrats who wish to federalize the election process.
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