Georgia’s state troops arrested Rep. Park Cannon of the Democratic state on Thursday after she knocked on the door of Republican Governor Brian Kemp’s office while he signed a controversial bill in a closed-door ceremony.
The video of the incident shows Cannon, who as a parliamentarian also works in the Chamber, being handcuffed after knocking on Kemp’s door, defending transparency in signing the bill. She was then removed from the Capitol, having repeatedly identified herself as a legislator, and placed in a police car.
A flurry of bills has been presented and passed by Republican-controlled state legislatures to toughen voting laws after former President Donald Trump lost the election and contested the baseless outcome.
Cannon, who is black, has been charged with two violations under state law: obstructing law enforcement and preventing or disrupting the General Assembly, according to the police.
She was taken to Fulton County Jail. Senator Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., Arrived there shortly after and was greeted by a small crowd cheering. Cannon was released on Thursday night.
“I am not the first Georgian to be arrested for fighting suppression of voters. I would love to say that I am the last, but we know that this is not true.” Cannon tweeted after his release. “But someday, soon, that last person will come out of prison for the last time and breathe for the first time, knowing that no one will be arrested again for fighting for the right to vote.”
Lt. W. Mark Riley, a spokesman for the Georgia State Patrol, said in a statement late on Thursday that Cannon was told to stop knocking on the door because the reserved area was for the governor’s team.
“She was warned that she was disturbing what was going on inside and if she didn’t stop, she would be put under arrest. Rep. Cannon stepped back for a moment and then went back to the door and started knocking on the door again,” Said Riley. “She was again warned if she didn’t stop, she would be arrested for obstructing and disturbing the press conference.”
Cannon was among several people protesting on Thursday in the state chamber after the approval of stricter voting limits, which followed weeks of debate in the Georgia legislature. The new law adds a number of restrictions, including changes to identification requirements for postal voting and making it illegal to bring food or water to voters in line to vote.
Kemp signed the bill into effect immediately, calling it “common sense” legislation while siding with former President Donald Trump in comments that touted the bill.
Trump unmistakably claimed that the election in Georgia was stolen from him, pressured Republican election officials to investigate and rejected his claims that the election was safe and that the results were accurate. Kemp said he and state lawmakers decided to make it “easy to vote and difficult to cheat”.
Georgia Democrat Stacey Abrams, founder of the voting rights group Fair Fight, said in a statement that the law was “blatantly unconstitutional” and “no less than Jim Crow 2.0”.
Newly elected US Senator John Ossoff, D-Ga., Tweeted support for Cannon, saying, “I’m with Congressman Park Cannon … who was arrested and LOADED WITH A FELONY for … for what?”
