U.S. Capitol Police said 302 people were arrested Thursday for illegally protesting inside Senate office buildings against the Supreme Court nomination of Brett Kavanaugh.
The protesters had originally planned to protest on the Capitol steps. But after police blockaded the steps, protesters headed to the atrium of the Hart Senate Office Building.
The vast majority of the arrests — 293 — took place on the Hart atrium floor. Another nine people were arrested for another demonstration on the fourth floor of the adjacent Dirksen Senate Office Building.
Videos posted on social media showed comedian Amy Schumer, who spoke earlier at an anti-Kavanaugh rally, apparently being arrested. Model Emily Ratajkowski said on Twitter that she was also detained and arrested.
Earlier, a crowd of demonstrators chanted and held signs. Some said "I believe Dr. Ford" and "I believe Anita." Other signs quoted Dr. Christine Blasey Ford's testimony. "Indelible in the hippocampus is the laughter," one poster said, quoting what Ford said haunted her about what she said Kavanaugh and his friend did as teenagers.
The demonstration publicized online with the hashtag #CancelKavanaugh was set to start at 12:30 p.m. at the E. Barrett Prettyman U.S. Courthouse, where Kavanaugh is a federal appeals court judge.
The organizers of the Women's March encouraged people to attend, vote and call their senators.
"If there was ever a moment when the voice of the people can come together in concert to change the fate of our nation, this is it," a Party Majority PAC website promoting the event says. "Arm in arm, organized and ready, every child, woman and man, must take to the streets to protest this nomination. The legitimacy of the nation's highest court is at stake as is the future of our country."
