Ten people were reportedly arrested outside the Phoenix office of Sen. Krysten Sinema (D-AZ) on Tuesday while protesting her support to maintain the filibuster.
AZFamily.com reports the protesters at the senator’s office were carrying signs reading, “End the filibuster,” and “Protect Our Democracy,” and “Shame! Shame!”
The local Phoenix police reportedly said they had become aware of the “planned demonstration.” The property manager of the business complex where they were protesting had told detectives, “the demonstrators were interfering with normal business operations and that he had asked the group to leave the private property.”
The report added the detectives had informed the “event organizer” they were being requested to leave, even announcing it over a loudspeaker. A group of about ten people continued protesting and ignored the officers’ requests, according to the police.
“Police arrested the ten without incident and issued citations,” the report said. The names of the people arrested have yet to be released.
The Hill reported the protesters were organized by the Arizona Coalition to End the Filibuster. The group is made up of multiple social justice groups and labor organizations. One of the groups in the coalition is Progress Arizona, the Arizona Working Families Party, and the Arizona NAACP.
Crowd outside on the sidewalk. Phoenix PD has arrested the 10 protestors who refused to leave Sinema’s office until she puts an end to the Jim Crow filibuster, passes the #ForThePeopleAct & more. #EndTheFilibuster #Arizona pic.twitter.com/gs0rdLrpLm
— Progress Arizona (@Progress_AZ) June 22, 2021
Emily Kirkland, the Progress Arizona executive director, in a statement to the Hill, said, “The status quo is simply untenable: we cannot allow the filibuster to continue blocking popular and much-needed bills that would protect our freedom to vote, raise the minimum wage, protect LGBTQ rights, and so much more.”
Kirkland, who was one of the protesters arrested, continued, “We’re calling on Senator Sinema to end the filibuster and begin doing the job she was elected to do: getting things done for her constituents.”
The protest came a day after the Democrat senator had written an op-ed in the Washington Post to support the filibuster. In the op-ed, she wrote, “The filibuster compels moderation and helps protect the country from wild swings.”
She also welcomed a full debate on the topic “so senators and our constituents can hear and fully consider the concerns and consequences.”
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