SHS Student’s Perspective of the Kavanaugh Protests
Photo Credit: Flickr
On Saturday October 6, shortly after Brett Kavanaugh was confirmed to the Supreme Court in a close 50-48 vote, a sea of protestors gathered outside of the Capitol building as well as the Supreme Court in Washington D.C. Signs in hand, they pressed up against the entrance to the Supreme Court with chants of “Hey, hey! Ho, ho! Kavanaugh has got to go!” echoing throughout the air.
Around half an hour into the protest, police began detaining protestors on the basis of civil disobedience, zip-tying their hands behind their backs and leading them away from the building. A total of 164 people were arrested for “crowding, obstructing, or incommoding.”
SHS student Dani Paz ’20 was present at the Saturday protest in Washington D.C. and wrote about her empowering, emotional experience. Here is her account:
The protest today was at the Capitol building and was then moved to the Supreme Court for the speeches. So many amazing speakers spoke and it was so moving. Various survivors, activists from different organizations, and even some senators spoke. While these speeches were taking place, victims and survivors started silently lining up on the steps of the Supreme Court behind the podium. Once we got the news that Kavanaugh was confirmed, I decided that I couldn’t stand to see this happen, so I joined the survivors. I am a survivor of sexual assault myself, and I am not ready to share my story yet, but I will not let another man get away with assaulting women. So, I stood by the victims. I was shaking while holding my sign. Tears streamed down my face at such a fast pace, and my heart was beating so fast that I thought it was going to explode. I was standing in front of a crowd of thousands of people. I felt so alone yet so supported at the same time. The police then proceeded to tell us that the Supreme Court was closed to the public and that we were trespassing on a federal building which would be a federal felony, but we didn’t care.
They said they were going to start arresting us. We didn’t care. So, they then started filming us to have proof of us “breaking the law.” A woman from the Women’s March organization told us what we were getting ourselves into: at least two days in jail, then a trial. We didn’t care. She then came and videotaped each of us individually stating our names and dates of birth. I was proud to do it. When my dad, who was in the crowd with my little sister, noticed what was happening, he ran up and started talking to the police captain. The captain said that they were going to start arresting us soon and that it would be best to take me out of the line, especially because I’m a minor. I ended up leaving before the police got to me, but I would have stayed if my little sister hadn’t been there. I would have stayed if I could have. It was a terrifyingly powerful experience.
