Capitol Police arrested U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-El Paso, during an abortion rights demonstration in front of the Supreme Court on Tuesday.
Escobar was among the 35 people arrested for blocking traffic, which included 17 members of Congress, Capitol police tweeted. She and others were protesting the court’s June 24 decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, which had established the constitutional right to an abortion.
“My arrest today for civil disobedience was a small act in the centuries-long battle to ensure every woman has the freedom to make personal decisions with those they love and trust without politicians trying to control them,” Escobar said in a press release shortly after her arrest.
Police also arrested other high-profile Democratic congresswomen: U.S. Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y.; Ilhan Omar, D-Minn.; and Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass.
U.S. Rep. Sylvia Garcia, D-Houston, was part of the protest, but police did not arrest her, Garcia’s spokesperson told The Texas Tribune.
Shortly before the arrests, Capitol Police on Twitter said it’s against the law to block traffic, “so officers are going to give our standard three warnings before they start making arrests.”
House Democrats passed two measures just days ago to codify the federal right to abortion and protect interstate travel to receive an abortion. The bills will unlikely pass in the Senate, where they need 60 votes to overcome the Republican filibuster.
Escobar described protesting injustice as a “principle of our nation” in her statement following her arrest.
“That is why, in the face of unprecedented attacks on abortion access and reproductive justice, like the draconian laws and anti-woman agenda we are seeing from the Texas state legislature, Governor Abbott, and the Supreme Court, I joined several of my colleagues in front of the highest court in the land to make good trouble.”
Texas is one of 13 states with trigger laws in place to outlaw abortions after the court’s dismantling of Roe v. Wade. Under Texas law, abortion would be banned in almost all cases, including rape and incest, with an exception if the pregnant person’s life is in danger.
