Actress and activist Alyssa Milano was arrested with a number of other leftist demonstrators outside the White House while protesting and demanding that the Biden administration mandate the Democrats’ version of voting rights.
“I was just arrested for demanding the Biden Administration and the Senate to use their mandate to protect voting rights,” Milano tweeted on Tuesday.
“Stand with me and @peoplefor and tell the Senate and White House that voting rights shouldn’t depend on where you live. #DontMuteOurVote,” the 48-year-old actress added.
She was arrested with 24 other activists at the protest after being repeatedly warned by U.S. Park Police to move along because the law prohibits crowding or obstructing streets or sidewalks. It was organized by the People for the American Way. Milano is a board member of the organization.
(Video Credit: Reuters)
Milano invoked the words of the late Rep. John Lewis (D-GA) while advocating for the voting rights legislation. She asserted that federal laws are needed to safeguard the right to vote following alleged attempts by a number of red states to restrict access to the ballot box. Republicans contend that the accusation is untrue and skewed to promote leftist voter reforms.
“John Lewis told us, ‘The vote is the most powerful nonviolent change agent you have in a democratic society. You must use it because it is not guaranteed. You can lose it.’ States across the country are trying to take it away from so many people in a cynical power grab. We can’t let them,” Milano claimed in a statement, according to The Hill.
“We need federal law right now to protect voting rights for all Americans, no matter which state they happen to live in. It’s a cause that’s worth getting arrested for,” she proclaimed.
Along with other protesters, Milano held up a clenched fist as she was led away by police.
I was just arrested for demanding the Biden Administration and the Senate to use their mandate to protect voting rights. Stand with me and @peoplefor and tell the Senate and White House that voting rights shouldn’t depend on where you live. #DontMuteOurVote
— Alyssa Milano (@Alyssa_Milano) October 19, 2021
I’m about to risk arrest for voting rights.
With @BenJealous and the activists of @peoplefor, we demand @POTUS act to secure passage of the #FreedomToVoteAct, the #JohnLewisVotingRightsAct and #DCStatehood. Access to the ballot can’t depend on your zip code. #DontMuteOurVote
— Alyssa Milano (@Alyssa_Milano) October 19, 2021
Milano has previously said she is considering running for a House seat in 2024.
The Senate is preparing to vote on the Freedom to Vote Act which ostensibly reforms voter registration and makes Election Day a national holiday. Republicans blocked a similar bill in June.
The bill is a rewrite of the For the People Act which would have purportedly handed elections over to the federal government. Its key provisions include making Election Day a public holiday, mandating that every state have automatic voter registration, and requiring at least 15 days of early voting for federal elections. It also limits disseminating information concerning elections, restores voting rights to felons, bans partisan gerrymandering, and prevents purging of voter rolls.
The former head of the NAACP, Ben Jealous, is the president of the People for the American Way. The group has been pushing hard for an end to the filibuster. He was arrested as well.
Here is the footage of Ben's arrest moments ago: https://t.co/zSJONWUsNl
— Ben Jealous (@BenJealous) October 5, 2021
“We came back to the White House to deliver a clear message to President Biden: we need actions that match the urgency of his words on voting rights – and time is running out,” he tweeted.
“The Freedom to Vote Act has to pass now if we are going to protect voting rights in the next election for all of us: for Black voters and Brown voters, for women, for younger voters and older voters, voters with disabilities and working people of all backgrounds,” Jealous continued.
BREAKING: A statement from Ben Jealous prior to his arrest:
“We came back to the White House to deliver a clear message to President Biden: we need actions that match the urgency of his words on voting rights – and time is running out.
— Ben Jealous (@BenJealous) October 19, 2021
The president needs to step up, or voting rights will die on his watch.”
— Ben Jealous (@BenJealous) October 19, 2021
Here are some other shots of the protest:
Today 25 of us were arrested in our fight for federal voting rights protection. We need the President & Congress to urgently pass #FreedomToVoteAct, even if it means carving out or ending the filibuster. The time is now. pic.twitter.com/mQp0t7WTJ7
— Bee Nguyen 🐝 (@BeeForGeorgia) October 19, 2021
Alyssa Milano was among those arrested just now at a voting rights demonstration in front of the White House pic.twitter.com/NklkFlmx4M
— sallykidd (@sallykidd) October 19, 2021
These 25 brave patriots, including @BenJealous and @Alyssa_Milano, were just arrested outside the White House in nonviolent protest for voting rights.
They are calling on President Biden to use his full power to fight for filibuster reform and pass the Freedom to Vote Act now. pic.twitter.com/xXXeXtIuLD
— Kai Newkirk #EndTheFilibuster (@kai_newkirk) October 19, 2021
SHOW ME WHAT DEMOCRACY LOOKS LIKE! THIS IS WHAT DEMOCRACY LOOKS LIKE @Alyssa_Milano #VotingRightsNow @KaseVirginia pic.twitter.com/T6Vg94XXWE
— League of Women Voters of the US (@LWV) October 19, 2021
This is what democracy looks like. And we're not going away until President Biden calls on the Senate to do whatever it takes to pass #VotingRightsNow. pic.twitter.com/qKnrsgO7Yr
— People For the American Way (@peoplefor) October 19, 2021
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