ADAPT does it again!!!!!
A total of 181 protesters were arrested on Monday for demonstrating against Republicans’ latest beleaguered attempt to repeal the Affordable Care Act.
Hundreds of activists had gathered on Capitol Hill on Monday morning in protest of the GOP bill, with many who said they were prepared to be arrested.
U.S. Capitol Police announced late Monday that their officers arrested demonstrators who “failed to cease and desist their unlawful demonstration activities” in the committee hearing room, which disrupted the hearing.
Shortly after the hearing began, some protesters in wheelchairs were physically removed from the hearing room by police officers as protesters continued to chant “No cuts to Medicaid!”
Others were arrested in the hallway after police said they refused to cease and desist demonstrating there.
Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) put the committee in recess while police removed the protesters. Later, he told the shouting activists that if they can’t remain quiet, “then get the heck out.”
Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), the main co-sponsor of the repeal legislation, appeared undisturbed by the activists’ opposition, and was observed yawning as some protesters were forcibly removed.
Butch Brosman, a man with disabilities who traveled from Atlanta to protest the bill, told HuffPost that if it passed and became law, it would literally mean he and others with disabilities could die.
“Death,” Brosman said, “death for me, death for millions of Americans. It’s an assault on Medicaid, an assault on the lives of many Americans.”
Michael Bancrowsky, a man from Philadelphia who traveled to D.C. to protest the bill, told HuffPost he was scared of it passing. “It would be terrible because I need Medicaid. Basically I can barely afford the things I got, it would ruin everything in my life.”
Stephanie Woodward, a woman with disabilities who traveled from Rochester, New York to protest the bill, said its passage “would mean people with disabilities who need Medicaid in order to live would have their lives put at risk and their liberty.” Woodward, along with several other protesters, said they were with ADAPT, an advocacy group for disabled people.