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Roughly 60 demonstrators were arrested on Friday outside the U.S. Capitol after breaching a police line of bike racks and advancing toward steps leading to the Capitol Rotunda, according to Capitol Police.
According to organizers, the group of veterans and military family members planned a sit-in on the Capitol steps to protest President Donald Trump’s deployment of the National Guard and active-duty Marines in Los Angeles to respond to anti-ICE protests, as well as a military parade scheduled for Saturday.
The parade on Saturday also comes on Trump’s 79th birthday. The president promised this week that anyone who protests at the parade will be met with “very heavy force,” although White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt later said that Trump supports peaceful protests.
A group of about 75 protesters were demonstrating peacefully Friday night at the Supreme Court, just across the street from the Capitol, according to a statement from Capitol Police.
A short time later, about 60 people began to leave the area, so officers began establishing a perimeter using bike racks to keep the protesters away from the Capitol.
“A few people pushed the bike rack down and illegally crossed the police line while running towards the Rotunda Steps,” Capitol Police said in its statement. “Our officers immediately blocked the group and began making arrests.”
All the arrested protesters will be charged with unlawful demonstration and crossing a police line, while some will face additional charges, including assault on a police officer and resisting arrest.
Two arrestees were transported to a local hospital for further treatment.
The protest was organized by two advocacy groups, About Face: Veterans Against the War and Veterans for Peace.
“We want a future where we invest in care for veterans, in health care, and in education, not where we spend $50 million on a parade,” Brittany Ramos DeBarros, an Army combat veteran and Organizing Director of About Face: Veterans Against the War, said in a statement to WJLA.
The Army will celebrate its 250th birthday on Saturday despite expected rain, with as many as 200,000 people expected to attend various events around the Capitol in addition to the military parade, which is estimated to cost around $45 million and will feature soldiers and military equipment, including tanks and airplanes.
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