Anti-Trump veterans arrested after charging U.S. Capitol steps

WASHINGTON—Officers handcuffed a Vietnam veteran as part of an unlawful protest at the U.S. Capitol on Friday evening. Former military members and their families demonstrated ahead of a military parade planned for Sunday. They criticized the Trump administration’s deportation methods and the deployment of the National Guard and the Marines to quell protests in Los Angeles. The organization About Face: Veterans against the War, along with Veterans for Peace and other activists, were peacefully protesting at the Supreme Court, which is allowed without a permit. At about 7 p.m., they moved across the street to demonstrate at the U.S. Capitol. Roughly 60 protesters broke down a police barricade and ran to the Capitol steps, where they engaged in a sit-in. The group chanted, “Get the military off our streets.”

Were there arrests? Organizers said that the group on the steps understood the risk of arrest. According to a statement by the U.S. Capitol Police, about 60 people were charged with unlawful demonstration and crossing a police line. A few are expected to be charged with assault on a police officer and resisting arrest. Officers initially escorted a Vietnam veteran with a walker behind the police line. WORLD saw the officers instruct him to move. When he refused, they sat him down on the walker seat and then wheeled him to the group, declining to detain him. Roughly 30 minutes later, the gentleman again broke past the barriers. Officers stood with him for several minutes and asked him to return to the peaceful group. The veteran insisted on going back to the steps, and officers handcuffed him and walked him to a police van. His charges are not known.

Dig deeper: Read Elizabeth Russell’s report on the latest in the court battle over whether Trump can legally deploy the National Guard without California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s request.