Washington, DC–Thousands of protesters led by women, walked past the Supreme Court Thursday and Friday in opposition to the likely appointment of Brett Kavanaugh to the high court. It was the second day of a growing people’s mobilization against a GOP-led Senate confirmation expected to take place Saturday.
Earlier on Thursday Comedian Amy Schumer and actress Emily Ratajkowski, who had participated in the march, were arrested at the Hart Senate Building. They and about 300 others were charged with a misdemeanor and later released with a summons to return in two weeks to face a hearing.
Ratajkowski tweeted, “Men who hurt women can no longer be placed in positions of power.” She carried a handmade sharpie inked sign ‘Respect Women’s Existence or expected our Resistance.”
As protesters passed the Supreme Court, hundreds clogged the sidewalk with signs and chants against the Senate Judiciary Committee vote to approve Brett Kavanaugh’s appointment for Senate consideration. Many women remained on the sidewalk to share their personal stories.
Among them was McLaine Rich, a student at the University of Maryland. She spoke of how her revelation of a sexual assault by another student spread among other women at her sorority. It led to a chain reaction of thirty other students confiding similar experiences at the University of Maryland.
She decided to form an outreach group to help women survivors of sexual assault. “I formed Preventing Sexual Assault for my sorority sisters who had all this trauma on their hands and didn’t know what to do with it.” PSA started as a support group but morphed into an activist group to fight for legislation for victims. “As we can see the justice system is not on our side and it’s not something we survivors can depend on,” said Rich.
Rich is working with PST to educate students about what constitutes sexual assault and how to prevent it. Rich admits she can’t control the outcome of the Senate vote but she can help change awareness of sexual assault for future generations of students at University of Maryland.
Senators Encourage Protests Of GOP SCOTUS Nomination
Later on Thursday evening a 48-hour People’s filibuster was organized across the street on the U.S. Capitol grounds. Top Senate Democrats rebuked the Kavanaugh confirmation process and admonished the incompleteness of the FBI investigation. Allegations that Brett Kavanaugh had allegedly sexually assaulted several women, one when he was a student at Georgetown Prep School, and another when he was a student at Yale Law school, heightened political tensions across party lines and drove a backlash of protests.
Among the speakers was Senator Bernie Sanders, who told of many calls his office had received and the national outrage over Kavanaugh’s nomination. “I think we are going to see the grassroots activism of women, young people, and people of color running for office on November 6,” he said.
Senator Kamala Harris spoke of the convincing testimony of Dr. Christine Ford. “This is that moment and right now it is about speaking truth in the face of those that would create a sham system and call it an investigation.” Senator Harris decried the handling of the FBI investigation since it included neither and interview of Dr. Ford nor Judge Kavanaugh. “This is not been about a search for the truth but we will speak the truth.”
Dr. Ford is a professor and psychologist who teaches at the University of Pali Alto. She came forward as a “civic duty” on September 28 to tell the Senate Judiciary Committee of her experience with sexual assault when she was a teenager. During her testimony she alleged Brett Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her when she was in high school.
Her graceful testimony riveted the Senate Judiciary Chamber and undercut the character of Brett Kavanaugh, who demonstrated an aggressive, snarling retort to her allegations. Her testimony was largely rejected by the eleven republican senators who voted the next day to advance Kavanaugh’s nomination to full Senate consideration. Alternately the ten democrats on the committee accepted her testimony as credible and voted to reject Kavanaugh’s advancement. The 11-10 vote moved Kavanaugh’s nomination forward.
On Tuesday night, October 2, President Trump mocked Dr. Ford during a campaign rally in Mississippi, prompting a national backlash of condemnation of his remarks and even bigger dam break of opposition to Kavanaugh’s nomination. Many of the protesters on Thursday and Friday were students who had traveled from across the country to Washington to express their outrage to the confirmation vote.
On Friday afternoon Senator Susan Collins announced she would cast her vote in support of Kavanaugh, making it all but certain he would assume the role of Justice in the final Senate vote. Collin’s Senate office was the scene of chaos as protesters clashed outside it Thursday and Friday. Capitol police were forced to enforce limits on passage through the corridors leading to it.
