On Wednesday, July 19, a third civil disobedience action took place at the U.S. Capitol involving Arkansas residents.
Among the approximately 25 Arkansawyers were several from Northwest Arkansas, including me, Eureka Springs resident Harrie Farrow. The demonstration was an effort to save healthcare coverage for tens of millions of Americans and tens of thousands of Arkansans, as the GOP senate threated to replace or just flat out repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA).
This action was much larger than the earlier protests at the Capitol at the end of June and earlier in July. Nearly 500 people were involved, with 155 of those eventually arrested. Groups were bused or flown in from nearly every state. Two churches in the area offered meeting spaces, and one also offered basement on-the-floor sleeping arrangements.
Protesters showed up at every Republican Senator’s office, as well as a few Representatives’ offices. As with earlier actions, the Arkansas group was one of the larger in attendance. Most from Arkansas arrived by chartered van out of Little Rock, paid for by local fundraising. The hired bus driver and his son were so moved by the group’s enthusiasm they joined in with the protesting actions.
Three reporters for Arkansas media “imbedded” themselves with the Arkansas team, and police and other media were awaiting as protesters arrive at the Capitol.
Because the Wisconsin contingency was small, the Arkansas team was paired with them, providing support as they demonstrated and were arrested at their Senator’s office. The group then proceeded to John Boozman’s office and asked to speak with him. After being told he was not available, one by one protesters shared medical stories about how the ACA saved their lives, or those of family members, while staff listened. Eventually, the group went into the hallway, chanting among other things, “Health care, not wealth care!” in reference to the proposed tax cut to the very wealthy in the Senate’s version of the “repeal and replace” bill. Several protesters were taken away in handcuffs by Capitol police after refusing to disperse, and were charged with “obstructing, crowding, or incommoding.”
The remainder of the Arkansas team moved on to Sen. Tom Cotton’s office. Here they were soon greeted by Cotton’s Chief of Staff, Doug Coutts, who offered to meet with the protesters in a conference room, after telling the group Cotton was not available.
The protesters elected to stay in the greeting area to tell their healthcare stories. Coutts then said he was going to take the two staffers away from their desks in the area so that they could get work done elsewhere. When the group pointed out that listening to their Arkansas constituents’ stories was important work for them to do, Coutts dismissed this notion and left the protesters alone in the room. Stories were shared loudly, as well as many chants, such as, “Don’t kill us, save our health care!” Eventually the group continued the protests in the hallway and several were arrested after failing to disperse.
All the planned protests in the Senate offices were over by late afternoon and no further actions were expected. However, when word reached the organizers that Republican Senators were planning a last-minute meeting that night at the Capitol to revive the Senate Healthcare bill, the group quickly mobilized a new action.
About three dozen people, including several from Arkansas, and a few who had just been released from custody, headed back to the Senate building. They arrived just in time to run up behind senators running a bit late to get into the Senate building and chanted at them, “Kill the bill, don’t kill us!” Once the protesters made their way to the hallway outside the meeting, they were met by a slew of press cameras that captured their chanting before police forced them to move down the hall and cease demonstrating.
Harrie Farrow