Rosario Dawson, the actor and celebrity surrogate for Bernie Sanders, was among dozens of people arrested on Capitol Hill on Friday after a week of pro-democracy demonstrations at the heart of the US government.
The actor was briefly detained for processing by police in Washington and will be required to pay a $50 fine, but does not face a court appearance or imprisonment. More than 800 people have been arrested for staging sit-ins on the steps of Congress during five days of protests by a movement known as Democracy Spring.
Wearing an American flag, a black jacket with Sanders image and various Sanders badges, Dawson said afterwards that US Capitol police gave her multiple warnings before making the arrest, perhaps because they realised the publicity it would generate. I wanted personally to be in solidarity with the other folks who put themselves on the line and really just to bring attention to this because I think thats just vitally important, she explained.
The police were really great with us, really lovely. I have to say that is not the case for so many people: Dreamers, Black Lives Matter activists, so many people are not seeing this kind of courageousness ... I hope that officers across the nation can take heed of that and recognise that the peaceful protests that are going around the nation should also be treated in the same way as we are being treated today.
Democracy Spring argues that elections are dominated by special interests and the activists are pushing for Congress to drop laws that would make it more difficult to vote and overturn supreme court decisions such Citizens United, which they say enhanced the role of big money in politics. Although the campaign echoes some of the themes articulated by Sanders and Donald Trump, it claims to be bipartisan with conservatives marching alongside Black Lives Matters members.
