Roughly 60 people who were protesting President Trump’s Army anniversary parade and his deployment of National Guard troops in Los Angeles were arrested outside the U.S. Capitol Friday, authorities said.
The situation unfolded with approximately 75 people protesting at the Supreme Court Friday evening, Capitol Police said in a statement. A short time later, 60 of those left the Supreme Court and made their way to the U.S. Capitol, where police started to establish a perimeter, authorities said.
Capitol Police said the protesters then “crossed” a police line “while running” toward the building.
“A few people pushed the bike rack down and illegally crossed the police line while running towards the Rotunda Steps,” Capitol Police said. “Our officers immediately blocked the group and began making arrests.”
Two of those arrested were taken to a local hospital for “further treatment,” according to Capitol Police.
The protest appeared to have been organized by the nonprofit group Veterans for Peace.
All those arrested will be charged with unlawful demonstration and crossing a police line, while additional charges for some will include assault on a police officer and resisting arrest, police said.
Veterans For Peace said in an Instagram post Friday night that “approximately 60 veterans and military family members staged a sit-in on the steps of the U.S. Capitol to demand the military get off our city streets from LA to DC, and taxpayer money be directed towards real investments in housing, health care, and food — not political stunts or militarism.”
“President Trump threatened Americans coming to exercise their first amendment rights would be met with ‘great force,’” Michael T. McPhearson, director of Veterans For Peace, said in the post. “We are the actual people who put uniforms on because we believe in the freedoms this country is supposed to be about and we will not be intimidated into silence.”
The arrests come on the eve of the Trump administration’s Washington, D.C., parade Saturday marking the 250th anniversary of the Army, the capital’s first major military parade in more than three decades. The event, according to Army officials, is expected to include about 6,600 soldiers, as well as about 150 vehicles and over 50 aircraft in the celebration. The parade also falls on Mr. Trump’s 79th birthday.
Kierra Frazier is a news editor for CBS News & Stations.
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