By Sam Hananel
Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — Protesters disrupted Supreme Court proceedings on Wednesday for the second time this year with shouted criticism of the court’s previous rulings on campaign finance.
Supreme Court police swiftly removed five people from the courtroom after they rose, one after another, to interrupt the start of the court’s session.
The advocacy group 99rise, which opposes the influence of money in elections, took responsibility for the protest, as it did for similar episodes in January and last year. The group said in a statement that six of its members took part Wednesday, though court spokeswoman Kathy Arberg said only five people were arrested.
Arberg said all five have been charged under a law that prohibits making “a harangue or oration” or uttering “loud, threatening or abusive language” in the Supreme Court Building. They also were charged with conspiracy-related offenses and sent to a holding cell at Washington, D.C., police headquarters.
The first protester rose from his seat among spectators in the courtroom just after the justices took the bench at 10 a.m. “I rise to claim our democracy, one person, one vote,” he said.
Chief Justice John Roberts initially joked that he didn’t think the court’s scheduled arguments in bankruptcy cases “would attract such attention.” But Roberts turned serious as the protests continued and warned that anyone disrupting proceedings could be charged with criminal contempt.
In the two previous protests, at least one person from 99rise carried a camera and recorded the disruption in violation of the court’s ban on cameras in the courtroom. The surreptitiously recorded video was later posted online.
The group said in a statement that the protest was tied to the one-year anniversary of the Supreme Court’s ruling in McCutcheon v. FEC, in which the justices struck down the overall federal limit on individual campaign contributions. The anniversary was on Thursday, when the court wasn’t in session.
- Posted April 03, 2015
- Tweet This | Share on Facebook
Five arrested in protest inside U.S. Supreme Court
headlines Oakland County
- Annual Dinner & Meeting
- FORCE Team arrests six in prolific auto theft ring
- Michigan allocates $12 million to support community-based organizations in advancing environmental and climate justice
- Oakland County and SMART launch pilot program providing free transit for veterans and dependents
- Supreme Court sides with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
headlines National
- More lawyers—and clients—want to learn about sustainable development practices
- Top artificial intelligence insurance tips for lawyers
- Lawyer charged with illegally transmitting Michigan data after 2020 election
- Viral video shows former Rikers Island inmate as she learns she passed bar exam on first try
- How Sullivan & Cromwell is scrutinizing potential new hires after campus protests
- No separate hearing required when police seize cars loaned to drivers accused of drug crimes, SCOTUS rules