The Slatest

Eight Congressional Democrats Handcuffed and Arrested at D.C. Immigration Rally

A crowd cheers during a rally in support of immigration reform on October 8, 2013 in Washington, DC.

Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Eight congressional democrats were arrested at a rally for immigration reform at the Capitol on Tuesday.

Reps. Joe Crowley, Raul Grijalva, Luis Gutierrez, Jan Schakowsky, Keith Ellison, Al Green, Charlie Rangel, and John Lewis, BuzzFeed reports, were among a group of more than 100 activists conducting a peaceful sit-in that blocked a street in the front of the Capitol. The lawmakers, along with other protestors, were handcuffed before being led to police wagons, according to BuzzFeed.

“I’ve been arrested a few times, and I don’t mind getting arrested again for something that is right and fair and just,” said civil rights icon Rep. John Lewis. The arrests came as protesters took part in the “Camino Americano: March for Immigration Reform” rally on the National Mall. The government shutdown, threatened to impede the long-planned protest, POLITICO reports, but the National Park Service allowed the event to go ahead because it fell under a First Amendment category, according to an event spokeswoman.

The rally was the culmination of a series of nationwide events in more than 100 cities around the country on Saturday aimed at putting pressure on legislators to enact comprehensive immigration reform.