Dozens Arrested After Sunrise Protest in Schumer's Washington Office

Dozens of protesters were arrested on Thursday, November 12, after staging a sit-in inside the Washington office of Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer. According to the Sunrise Movement, 54 people were arrested.

The Sunrise Movement, an activist group focused on climate issues, said a few hundred people joined the action from across the country, including some from New York. Inside the office, protesters chanted "Hey hey, ho ho, Schumer has got to go!" They held signs reading "The filibuster kills," "Stop the climate crisis," and "Schumer: Step up or step aside."

The protesters delivered a letter to Schumer arguing that "after a collective decade of Schumer leadership it was time for change." They called on Democrats to make ending the filibuster a priority when Congress returns in January. The filibuster is a Senate procedure that can hold up legislation. The protesters also left copies of the letter at the offices of every Senate Democrat.

Kidus Girma, the Sunrise Movement's campaigns director, said Thursday's action is one of several planned over the next two weeks that target Senate Democrats. To cover bail and potential legal fees for those arrested, the group is fundraising $24,000 on Instagram.

The protest comes as Senate Democrats prepare to vote on a majority leader for the upcoming Congress. Bernie Sanders has said he will not support Schumer for Senate Democratic leader. Incoming Democratic senators, including Michigan's Abdul El-Sayed and South Carolina's Annie Andrews, have also said they will not support Schumer for the post. Minnesota senator-elect Peggy Flanagan has backed Maryland's Chris Van Hollen as a challenger to Schumer.

Sunrise drew wide attention in 2018 with a sit-in targeting then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. The group helped launch calls for a Green New Deal, a proposed climate and economic program, alongside Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who took part in that 2018 sit-in. Sunrise co-founder Will Lawrence, 36, won his race for a Michigan U.S. House seat after campaigning against datacenters.