U.S. Capitol Police arrested 21 HIV/AIDS activists on Wednesday for protesting at the Cannon House Office Building.
The arrested people, part of a group of over 30 activists, began chanting whistles and blowing them, holding signs: “Save USAID (US Agency for International Development) and “Save lives” and “The US Congress will kill people with AIDS around the world.”
The 21 arrested activists formed circles on marble floors and made sit-ins to protest the President’s emergency plan for the Trump Vance administration’s cuts to USAID and the failure to protect AIDS relief and Congress’s foreign aid programs. NY, Health Gap, Housing Works, and the Treatment Behavior Group organized the protests.
“The demonstration marked the month anniversary of President Trump’s controversial stopwork order, which frozen humanitarian aid.
Activists have called for a full recovery in Pepfar’s funding and warned of negative health outcomes from the funding freeze to Pepfar and other international aid programs managed by USAID.
Capitol police arrested 21 activists after 21 activists failed to comply with the orders for disbandment.
“It is against the law to protest within the Congress building, so after 11:30am, about 21 people were arrested due to crowds, obstruction and Impong Kom at 22-1307,” Capitol police said in a statement to the Washington Blade.
Michael K. Lovers, the international editor of Washington Blade, contributed to this report.
Post-HIV/AIDS activists arrested on Capitol Hill first appeared in Washington Blade: LGBTQ News, Politics, LGBTQ Rights and Gay News.
Source: Washington Blade: LGBTQ News, Politics, LGBTQ Rights, Gay News – www.washingtonblade.com
