U.S. Capitol Police arrested 181 people for blocking an intersection outside the Supreme Court Thursday as they rallied in support of abortion rights.
"We arrested 181 people for Crowding, Obstructing or Incommoding (DC Code § 22–1307) for blocking the intersection of Constitution Avenue, NE and First Street, NE," Capitol Police announced on Twitter Thursday.
The arrests, Capitol Police said, came after they issued three warnings for people to clear the intersection and area. Thursday marked the final day of a term filled with controversial calls. The court's decision last week that there is no constitutional right to an abortion has sparked emotional demonstrations across the country, both in favor of abortion access and against it.
Democratic Rep. Judy Chu of California was among those arrested Thursday. Protesters have gathered at the Supreme Court since its decision Friday to overturn the landmark abortion case Roe v. Wade.
President Biden on Thursday voiced his support for changing Senate rules temporarily to codify abortion protections under roe and privacy rights, although the Senate currently lacks the votes to do so.
"The most important thing to be clear about is, we have to change — I believe we codify Roe v. Wade in the law, and the way to do that is to make sure Congress votes to do that," Mr. Biden told reporters on Thursday. "And if the filibuster gets in the way, it's like voting rights, it should be — we provide an exception for this. We require an exception to the filibuster for this action."