Rev. Jesse Jackson was among almost two dozen people arrested this week outside the Senate during a protest by civil rights leaders calling for the end of the filibuster and passage of a voting rights bill.
Jackson, along with Bishop William Barber and 20 others, were arrested Wednesday for crowding or obstructing, Capitol Police told local media.
In response to being arrested, Barber noted, “"It took this to win it, it's going to take this to keep it."
Jackson and Barber spoke to a crowd gathered near the U.S. Supreme Court building in Washington, D.C. Wednesday, before leading demonstrators down to the Hart Senate Building, where they reportedly marched on the sidewalk.
Video shared on a webpage belonging to a group Barber leads shows Capitol Police telling the group they were engaging in “illegal demonstration activities.”
Later in the day, Republicans filibustered the voting rights bill in the Senate, called the For the People Act. A vote to allow discussion about the bill in order to move it forward failed to get the 60 votes needed; the vote was along party lines, 50-50.
