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North Carolina-based pastor and national anti-poverty activist Rev. William Barber II was arrested with two other clergy members Monday while praying at the U.S. Capitol in Washington.
The three were part of a group of 20 to 30 people who had gone to the Capitol after a larger “Moral Mondays” rally outside the U.S. Supreme Court building. Organizers say the gatherings (https://secure.everyaction.com/ApnxbEa9U0yff72sWvsAjw2) are in opposition to cuts that have been made or proposed in the federal budget that are immoral because they disproportionately affect poor and vulnerable people.
Barber said on Tuesday that with the doors closed, he, Wilson-Hartgrove and Swayne were handcuffed and arrested.
“We weren’t cursing. We weren’t talking extraordinarily loud,” said Barber, who was wearing a stole that said, “Jesus was a poor man” when officers detained him. “They gave us three warnings and then they arrested us, saying our prayer was an illegal activity.”
Compare the arrest of these peaceful men to the recent pardon of the J-6 rioters who caused over $1 million in damages to the capitol and threatened to hang the vice president.