Democrat lawmaker Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has been arrested outside the US Supreme Court.
AOC was taking part in an abortion rally protesting the court's recent decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. She was one of 35 protestors taken into custody.
Meanwhile, the New York representative was not the only lawmaker to be arrested by Capitol Police. Other congress members including Katherine Clark of Massachusetts, Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, Texas' Veronica Escobar, and Illinois' Jan Schakowsky were also detained, per The Guardian.
The supreme court's decision to overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade ruling - which gave women the constitutional right to an abortion - has sparked protests across the country since it was announced last month.
In the absence of the Roe v. Wade ruling, abortion is now banned or under threat of being banned in 60% of U.S. states.
Yesterday (July 19), protestors and lawmakers gathered outside the court in peaceful protest. When Capitol police officers threatened to detain any who would not leave the area, protestors began singing and chanting "we won't go back" and "our body our choice".
Eventually, officers arrested 35 protestors. Among these were 18 democrat politicians, several of whom have spoken out in the wake of the incident.
California representative Jackie Speier - who was detained alongside AOC and other lawmakers - took to Twitter to reflect on the protest.
"Proud to march with my Democratic colleagues and get arrested for women’s rights, abortion rights, the rights for people to control their own bodies and the future and our democracy," she wrote.
Meanwhile, Congresswoman Katherine Clark told ABC News that she could not sit by while abortion rights were stripped away by the republican leaning Supreme Court.
"The extremist Republican Party is determined to take us back in time and take away our rights," she said, adding: "I refuse to stand on the sidelines as their rampage continues. I am furious and heartbroken, and I will proudly fight for our right to abortion and all of our Constitutional rights. They can arrest me, but we won’t allow them to arrest freedom."
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