Snapshots From #StopKavanaugh Rally Against Supreme Court Nominee

September 3, 2018 19 photos
  • Hundreds of activists from across the county converged in Washington, D.C., to protest against President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominee, Brett Kavanaugh. (Michael Nigro / Truthdig)

  • Protesters marched through the streets during the lunchtime hours, making their way to the front lawn of the U.S. Capitol to hold a rally. (Michael Nigro / Truthdig)

  • If Kavanaugh is confirmed, critics claim, it would create a bloc of five right-wing justices, probably resulting in the most conservative Supreme Court since the 1930s. Approval of the Trump nominee could lead to a major rollback of civil rights safeguards, environmental regulations, gun control measures, voting and reproductive rights, and, possibly, to the overturning of Roe v. Wade. (Michael Nigro / Truthdig)

  • Protesters say that, based on Kavanaugh’s political affiliations, he would push the Supreme Court further to the right, a development that might threaten hundreds of millions of Americans’ access to health care. (Michael Nigro / Truthdig)

  • According to activists, the appointment of Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court threatens civil rights protections for people with disabilities and could thwart their access to health care. In 2007, he overruled district court orders that had given people with intellectual disabilities a role in deciding whether to have elective surgeries. (Michael Nigro / Truthdig)

  • The appointment of Kavanaugh, given his history and prior rulings, would probably bring about a Supreme Court decision allowing insurance companies to exclude protections for pre-existing conditions under the Affordable Care Act. Here, Rebecca Wood and her daughter get ready to march to the Senate buildings. (Michael Nigro / Truthdig)

  • Activist Ady Barkan speaks at the rally to #StopKavanaugh. Diagnosed with ALS in 2016, he said, “As my life is coming to the end, I want to make sure that I spend every day that I have doing things that make me proud and that will make my son proud. When people remember me, I want them to remember that I was committed to a purpose larger than myself and that I encourage them and inspire them to join that cause and be part of a community of Americans who want to build a better country for our children.” (Michael Nigro / Truthdig)

  • Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer made a brief appearance at the #StopKavanaugh rally and said he and other Democrats are trying to get the release of all documents related to Kavanaugh when the court nominee was a staff secretary under President George W. Bush. (Michael Nigro / Truthdig)

  • A new poll from the Kaiser Family Foundation finds that nearly 70 percent of voters do not want Roe v. Wade overturned. Despite that, a number of states are poised to ban abortions if the ruling is overturned. (Michael Nigro / Truthdig)

  • In addition to the approval granted by conservative groups like the Federalist Society and the Heritage Foundation, perhaps one of the reasons Trump nominated Kavanaugh can be found in an article Kavanaugh published in the Minnesota Law Review in 2009. “I believe that [any] President should be excused from some of the burdens of ordinary citizenship while serving in office,” Kavanaugh wrote. “We should not burden a sitting President with civil suits, criminal investigations, or criminal prosecutions.” (Michael Nigro / Truthdig)

  • Every activist risking arrest had $50 in his or her pocket to pay the fine for crowding, obstructing or incommoding, all of which are prohibited under the District of Columbia Code § 22–1307. (Michael Nigro / Truthdig)

  • Throughout the day, activists tracked Kavanaugh’s scheduled meetings with various senators, hoping to voice their dissent. Kavanaugh relocated each meeting to take place inside the Capitol. Still, activists were able to express their concerns to Senate staffers. (Michael Nigro / Truthdig)

  • The majority of the protesters who showed up for the #StopKavanaugh action were women, most of whom wore “Be A Hero” T-shirts, in reference to Barkan’s 22-city tour, in which the ill activist seeks to inspire people to vote in November’s midterm elections. (Michael Nigro / Truthdig)

  • Jennifer Flynn Walker, director of mobilization and advocacy for the nonprofit Center for Popular Democracy, is warned by the Capitol police to keep the Dirksen Senate hallway clear. (Michael Nigro / Truthdig)

  • Once activists learned that Kavanaugh had avoided their protests, the group moved into the Hart Senate Building and protested in Arkansas Sen. John Boozman’s office. (Michael Nigro / Truthdig)

  • Mass arrest envelopes are filled out; it was reported that actress Téa Leoni paid everyone’s bail. (Michael Nigro / Truthdig)

  • Smile when you’re arrested. (Michael Nigro / Truthdig)

  • Arrestee Kristin Mink chants while being taken into custody. Last month, she confronted EPA chief Scott Pruitt in a video that went viral just prior to his resignation. (Michael Nigro / Truthdig)

  • Capitol police dispose of #StopKavanaugh signs. (Michael Nigro / Truthdig)