According to Capitol Police, approximately 60 people were arrested outside the US Capitol on Friday evening after breaking through a police line of bike racks and moving toward steps leading to the Capitol Rotunda.
The group, comprised of veterans and military family members, planned a sit-in on the Capitol steps to protest President Donald Trump’s deployment of the National Guard and active-duty Marines in Los Angeles, as well as a military parade on Saturday, Trump’s 79th birthday, according to a news release from organizers.
According to a Capitol Police statement, approximately 75 protesters were peacefully demonstrating at the Supreme Court, which is located just across the street from the United States Capitol. As the group left, officers began erecting a perimeter of bike racks to keep protesters away from the Capitol.
“A few people pushed the bike rack down and illegally crossed the police line while running towards the Rotunda Steps,” the legislature’s police department said. “Our officers immediately blocked the group and began making arrests.”
Police stated that “all will be charged with unlawful demonstration and crossing a police line.” Some will face additional charges such as assaulting a police officer and resisting arrest.
The protest was organized by two advocacy organizations, About Face: Veterans Against the War and Veterans for Peace. The brief sit-in came after a rally and press conference, according to the organizers’ news release.
“We want a future where we invest in care for veterans, health care, and education, not where we spend $50 million on a parade,” said Brittany Ramos DeBarros, an Army combat veteran and organizing director of About Face: Veterans Against the War, in a statement.
The arrests occur on the eve of one of the largest gatherings expected in Washington, DC this summer, as the Army commemorates its 250th anniversary.
On Saturday, hundreds of thousands of people are expected to attend various events around the Capitol, including the military parade, which is expected to cost around $45 million and will include soldiers, tanks, airplanes, and other military equipment.
The US Secret Service is in charge of security for the event, which will be maintained by similar fencing to what protestors allegedly erected near the Capitol on Friday night, but will also be enforced by thousands of officers, 18 miles of anti-scalable fencing, surveillance drones, counter-snipers, and a variety of other security measures.
Matt McCool, Special Agent in Charge of the Washington Field Office, told CNN that the Secret Service and other federal partners are monitoring the protests in Los Angeles and across the country, but they have already planned for the possibility of large-scale protests on Saturday.
As of Friday evening, agencies were not aware of any active threats to the parade or surrounding events.
