"Death Penalty Protesters Are Arrested at U.S. Supreme Court," is the AP report via the New York Times. It's also available via the Washington Post.
Fourteen people have been arrested at the Supreme Court for protesting the use of the death penalty in the United States. A court spokeswoman, Kathy Arberg, announced the arrests soon after justices began hearing oral arguments on Tuesday. It is illegal to demonstrate on the court’s plaza that faces the Capitol. The protests are timed to observe the 35th anniversary of the execution of Gary M. Gilmore; the Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the death penalty in 1976, and Mr. Gilmore was put to death in 1977 after a 10-year moratorium on executions.
"14 Arrested In Death Penalty Protest at Supreme Court," is Tony Mauro's post at the BLT. A photo is at the link.
Inside, the Supreme Court was hearing arguments in a dusty federal tax case. Outside, police were arresting 14 death penalty protesters who unfurled a 30-foot wide banner with the message "STOP EXECUTIONS!" on the Court's marble plaza. One by one this morning, the demonstrators were escorted or dragged away for violating the federal law (40 U.S.C. 6135) that forbids "processions or assemblages" on Supreme Court grounds.
The protest marked the 35th anniversary of the Utah execution by firing squad of Gary Gilmore, the first execution since the high court's reinstatement of the death penalty in 1976. It was a repeat of a similar demonstration five years ago, and in between, numerous others -- from Princeton philosopher Cornel West to demonstrators dressed like Guantanamo detainees -- have been arrested in the same location.
The demonstrators assembled beforehand at the nearby United Methodist Building where they discussed what to expect when arrested, and held hands in prayer. Bethesda, Maryland solo practitioner Mark Goldstone, longtime lawyer for Court protesters, briefed the group on the legalities, and told them, as he put it later, "It's too bad you aren't corporations, because then you would have more First Amendment protections."
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