74 protesters charged at Capitol in protest of Kavanaugh

Capitol Police charged 74 people on Wednesday in connection with a protest in the Senate office building against President Trump’s Supreme Court nominee, Brett Kavanaugh.

A spokeswoman for Capitol Police said the individuals were charged with crowding, obstructing, or incommoding, all of which are prohibited under D.C. Code § 22–1307.

Dozens of protesters filtered into the Senate office building on Wednesday and lined the hallways outside senators’ offices in an attempt to stop Republican senators from meeting with Kavanaugh.

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An organizer initially declared they were successful in blocking the meetings on Twitter, but later deleted the tweet after the White House and multiple lawmakers confirmed that the meetings occurred.

This is incorrect. Judge Kavanaugh met with each Senator he was scheduled to meet with today, including @SenatorRisch, @SenatorWicker, @SenTomCotton, @SenJohnHoeven, @SenJohnThune, @JohnBoozman and meeting with @marcorubio shortly. https://t.co/zncJq4L80Q

— Raj Shah (@RajShah45) August 1, 2018

After today’s meeting with Judge Kavanaugh, I am confident that the president’s nominee has exactly what it takes to defend the Constitution and call balls and strikes from the bench. I will support his nomination to the Supreme Court this fall. pic.twitter.com/tizBbj1HsG

— Senator John Thune (@SenJohnThune) August 1, 2018

Spokespeople for Sens. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) and John Hoeven (R-N.D.) said both senators moved their meetings from the office building to the Capitol, but cited votes in the Senate as the reason.

A couple hundred protesters have lined the hallway outside @SenJohnThune’s office where Judge Kavanaugh is expected to arrive for a meeting with the Senator. They’re being silent and many are holding up a fist—> pic.twitter.com/ev1GqxttGh

— Frank Thorp V (@frankthorp) August 1, 2018

Liberal activists have fiercely opposed Kavanaugh’s nomination, and have urged Democrats to outright reject the judge. Some Democrats have said the Senate should not vote on a new justice until after the midterms.

Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Joe Donnelly (D-Ind.) are the only to Democrats thus far to publicly say they will meet with Kavanaugh. Manchin met with the judge on Monday, and said the two had a “productive conversation.”

Trump nominated Kavanaugh in June to replace retiring Justice Anthony Kennedy.