White House ‘deeply concerned’ with Black Georgia lawmaker’s arrest for knocking on governor’s door

  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.
Alex Woodward
·5 min read
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.
(AP)
(AP)

The White House is “deeply concerned” with the arrest of a Georgia lawmaker who was forcibly removed from the state’s Capitol as Governor Brian Kemp signed sweeping ballot restrictions into law.

“I think anyone who saw that video would have been deeply concerned by the actions that were taken by law enforcement to arrest her,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters on Friday. “The largest concern here … is the law that was put into place.”

After her release from jail on Thursday night, Georgia Rep Park Cannon has vowed to combat voter suppression, as an outpouring of support and outrage across the US has followed her arrest.

“I will not stand by while our voting rights are threatened across this state, the state I swore an oath to represent with integrity, honesty, and respect for the millions of people who live and work in this community,” Democratic state Rep Park Cannon said in a statement on Friday hours after her release from a Fulton County jail.

Widely shared video of her arrest shows Ms Cannon, who is Black, handcuffed with her arms behind her back after she was removed as Governor Kemp announced his signature on the Republican-backed legislation, which transfers election oversight from election officials and into the hands of Republican lawmakers, reduces the number of places where people can vote and makes it a criminal offence to provide food and water to people waiting in voting lines, among other provisions that disproportionately target Black voters.

Read more:

“Voting is a constitutional right guaranteed to every person over the age of 18 born not only in Georgia but in every corner of the United States,” Ms Park said. “To limit that right is to go against our Constitution and the ideals of the Founding Fathers that Conservative Georgians hold so dear.”

She added: “So it confuses and concerns me that those same conservative lawmakers that are now fighting so hard to limit and suppress the voting rights of all Georgians, but specifically Black and brown voters, a population of voters who have historically been disenfranchised in this state.”

Georgia is not alone – dozens of GOP-backed bills in at least 43 states have proposed tightening restrictions on ballot access, from strict voter ID laws to eliminating early voting periods and absentee voting, fuelled by the false narratives of widespread voter fraud and “irregularities” in 2020 elections promoted by former president Donald Trump.

US Senator Raphael Warnock – one of two Democratic senators from Georgia elected in recent elections – said her arrest marked a “very sad day for the state of Georgia”.

“What we have witnessed today is a desperate attempt to lock out and squeeze the people out of their own democracy,” Mr Warnock told reporters outside a Fulton County jail on Thursday night.

Ms Park faces one charge of obstructing law enforcement officers by use of threats or violence and a second charge of disrupting a general assembly session or other meeting of members. In video footage, she can be seen repeatedly asking police why she is being arrested and telling them she is a state lawmaker.

Georgia’s state constitution provides that lawmakers “shall be free from arrest during sessions of the General Assembly” except for treason, felony or breach of the peace.

“This effort to silence the voices of Georgians who stood up in a historic election in November and January will not stand,” Mr Warnock said. “The goal of voter suppression is to demoralise the electorate to people don’t even bother to try. ... They’re trying to fix something that’s not even broken. We should be making it easier for people to vote, not harder. The people aren’t asking for this. This is democracy in reverse. Rather than people choosing their politicians, politicians are trying to cherry pick their voters.”

Mr Kemp announced on Thursday that “there’s no doubt there were many alarming issues with how the election was handled, and those problems led to a crisis of confidence in the ballot box here in Georgia,” despite several audits and hand counts of Georgia’s election results finding no evidence of widespread fraud or other issues that impacted the outcomes or conditions of elections.

State election officials across the US, including in Georgia, as well as the Justice Department and FBI have all reported no evidence of significant election fraud, and most bills offered up by Republicans – such as cutting down on early voting hours and limiting locations to turn in ballots – do not appear to do anything to combat it.

President Joe Biden, who was the first Democratic presidential candidate to carry the state since 1992, condemned Republican-led restrictions on voting rights as “un-American” and “sick”.

The House of Representatives has passed a massive elections bill, the For The People Act, that if signed into law would be the largest piece of voting rights legislation since the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

That bill aims to standardise voting access at ballots in every state and territory, eliminate long-standing barriers to voting and allow candidates with smaller platforms to wield more political power, among other provisions. It would effectively nullify the state-level bills currently pending in legislatures.

But it faces a murky path in the US Senate, despite aggressive support from Democratic lawmakers and Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, who has repeatedly said that “failure is not an option” when it comes to voting rights.

Under current Senate rules, the bill needs at least 10 GOP senators to join Democrats to clear the chamber’s 60-vote threshold for legislation.

Recommended Stories

  • Senior Navy officer harassed women for years, Pentagon watchdog says

    Pentagon watchdog substantiates allegations that Navy official sexually harassed a dozen women over two decades

  • Mitt Romney to receive JFK prize for courage for his vote to impeach Trump

    Award was created by family of late president to acknowledge those who risk their careers for the greater public good by taking on unpopular positions

  • Texans wanted to speak on a bill they fear will suppress votes. They never got a chance

    More than 100 people wanted to testify on a bill Thursday that opponents say would suppress voters, but the hearing abruptly ended before they were given the chance to address lawmakers.

  • MIT grad found dead in Chicago home surrounded by bomb making material

    ‘A strong odor was emanating from the apartment and officers began getting sick’

  • University pays $1bn to women over abuse claims against campus gynaecologist

    The payout marks the largest sexual abuse settlement with a university

  • Postal worker charged with stealing credit card, using it to pay for breast lift

    A New York City postal worker was charged with stealing a credit card from her mail route and using it to pay for a breast lift.

  • Georgia lawmaker arrested as governor signs new election law

    Park Cannon, a black lawmaker, was arrested and charged amid protests over a controversial new law.

  • Sophie Winkleman says she landed ‘Two And a Half Men’ role without Hollywood knowing she is a royal

    Sophie Winkleman kept her maiden name throughout her acting career. ‘They just knew me from my acting, which was quite important to me’

  • Saudi Official: Don’t Let My Alleged Death Threat Detract From Our Human-Rights Achievements

    ReutersThe unnamed Saudi official who was accused of threatening to kill a United Nations investigator for asking difficult questions has helpfully identified himself—and insists it’s all just a terrible misunderstanding.Earlier this week, Agnès Callamard, the UN special rapporteur who was tasked with investigating Jamal Khashoggi’s slaying at the hands of Saudi government agents, made an incredible allegation. Callamard told The Guardian that, in January 2020, a senior Saudi official threatened to have her “taken care of” if she didn’t go easier on his government. She said that the remark was clearly understood to be a death threat.Although Callamard didn’t name the official, he’s now come out publicly to defend himself from the investigator’s claims. Awwad Alawwad, the Saudi minister of culture and information, said in an extraordinary Twitter thread that the people who heard his alleged threat have got it wrong—and he hopes the misunderstanding won’t detract from all the great work he and Saudi Arabia are doing to advance human rights.CNN Host Confronts Psaki on Biden Giving Saudi Prince a Pass on Khashoggi Murder“It has come to my attention that Ms. Agnes Callamard of Amnesty International and some U.N. officials believe I somehow made a veiled threat against her more than a year ago,” wrote the minister. “I reject this suggestion in the strongest terms. While I cannot recall the exact conversations, I never would have desired or threatened any harm upon a U.N.-appointed individual, or anyone for that matter.”In what amounted to a classic of the “sorry you feel that way” genre of non-apology, Alawwad went on: “I am disheartened that anything I have said could be interpreted as a threat. I am an advocate for human rights and I spend my day working to ensure those values are upheld.”Then, in an audacious claim, the minister went on to laud his country’s human-rights record as the most-improved on Earth. Saudi Arabia consistently ranks among the worst performers for human rights. Freedom House, the U.S.-based human-rights think tank, lists it as the seventh most oppressive country in the world because of its entirely unelected government, routine use of torture and execution, and widespread discrimination against women and religious minorities.However, Alawwad insisted that the country is doing its very best. He wrote: “I truly hope that this story was not concocted to distract from the important work we are doing to advance human rights in Saudi Arabia. No country is advancing faster on reforms than us right now.”Callamard, whose report on the Khashoggi murder concluded that there was evidence that the Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, was behind the crime, will probably need a bit more convincing.Read more at The Daily Beast.Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.

  • Georgia's Republican-led legislature passes sweeping voting restrictions

    Measure signed into law by Governor Brian KempMove follows record turnout in November election and Senate runoffs Barry Fleming, left, chairman of a special committee on election integrity, speaks with his fellow Republican representative Mark Newton at the Georgia capitol in Atlanta on Thursday. Photograph: Alyssa Pointer/AP Georgia lawmakers on Thursday gave final approval to legislation to impose sweeping new restrictions on voting access in the state that make it harder to vote by mail and give the state legislature more power over elections. The measure was signed into law by Governor Brian Kemp, a Republican, on Thursday evening. “Significant reforms to our state elections were needed. There’s no doubt there were many alarming issues with how the election was handled, and those problems, understandably, led to a crisis of confidence,” Kemp said during prepared remarks shortly after signing the bill. Pictures showed him signing the bill watched by six white men, despite criticism that the legislation adds up to voter suppression targeting Black communities whose ballots helped Democrats win the state and its two US Senate seats in the 2020 election. I was proud to sign S.B. 202 to ensure elections in Georgia are secure, fair, and accessible. I appreciate the hard work of members of the General Assembly to make it easy to vote and hard to cheat. pic.twitter.com/1ztPnfD6rd— Governor Brian P. Kemp (@GovKemp) March 25, 2021 It requires voters to submit ID information with both an absentee ballot request and the ballot itself. It limits the use of absentee ballot drop boxes, allows for unlimited challenges to a voter’s qualifications, cuts the runoff election period from nine to four weeks, and significantly shortens the amount of time voters have to request an absentee ballot. Sign up for the Guardian’s Fight to Vote newsletter The legislation also empowers the state legislature, currently dominated by Republicans, to appoint a majority of members on the five-person state election board. That provision would strip Georgia’s secretary of state, Brad Raffensperger, a Republican who stood up to Trump after the election, from his current role as chairman of the board. The bill creates a mechanism for the board to strip local election boards of their power. Gloria Butler, a Democratic state senator, said the bill would make it harder to vote, especially for poor and disabled people. “We are witnessing a massive and unabashed assault on voting rights unlike anything we’ve seen since the Jim Crow era,” she said just before the bill passed. “This bill is absolutely about opportunities, but it isn’t about opportunities to vote. It is about the opportunity to keep control and keep power at any cost,” Jen Jordan, a Democratic state senator, said on Thursday. Park Cannon, a Democratic state representative, was arrested on Thursday after knocking on the door of the governor’s office during protests against the legislation’s signing. Video captured by a bystander shows Cannon, who is Black, handcuffed with her arms behind her back and being forcibly removed from the state Capitol by two officers, one on each arm. She says, “Where are you taking me?” and, “Stop” as she is taken from the building. “Why are you arresting her?” This Facebook Live video from @TWareStevens shows the moment authorities detained state Rep. Park Cannon as @GovKemp was behind those doors signing elections restrictions into law. #gapol pic.twitter.com/U1xMJ6tZrY— Greg Bluestein (@bluestein) March 25, 2021 Protesters outside the state Capitol called the bill “Jim Crow 2.0”, the Atlanta Journal Constitution reported. The legislation comes after Georgia saw record turnout in the November election and January US Senate runoffs, including surges among Black and other minority voters. It has become the center of national attention because many see it as a crystallization of a national push by Republicans to make it harder to vote. Alluding to a measure in the Georgia bill that bans providing food or water to people standing in line to vote, Joe Biden called that national effort “sick” during a Thursday press conference. “This makes Jim Crow look like Jim Eagle,” he said. Facing opposition from top Republicans in the state, Republicans dropped a push to require voters to give an excuse to vote by mail. And amid national outcry, they backed away in recent weeks from proposals to prohibit early voting on Sundays, a day that Black voters have traditionally used in disproportionate numbers to cast ballots. The measure that passed on Thursday actually expands weekend early voting in the state, requiring an additional Saturday and authorizing counties to offer it on two Sundays if they choose. Republicans seized on that provision in the bill on Thursday to claim that they were actually expanding voter access in Georgia. “The bill greatly expands the accessibility of voters in Georgia and greatly improves the process of administration of elections while at the same time providing more accountability to provide that the vote is properly preserved,” Barry Fleming, a GOP state representative who spearheaded the legislation, said on Thursday. They offered little substantive justification for why the measure was necessary after an election in which there was record turnout, and in which multiple recounts found no evidence of fraud. Instead, they said the bill was necessary to preserve voter confidence. The nearly 100-page measure was only formally unveiled last week, when it was abruptly inserted into another two-page bill. While the legislation includes several of the measures lawmakers debated, it included some new ideas that had not been fully debated. Democrats and voting activists have accused Republicans of trying to ram through a bill without fully vetting it. Democrats and voting rights groups are expected to file lawsuits challenging the measure. The Associated Press contributed reporting

  • Georgia lawmaker arrested after protesting voting restrictions

    The Democratic lawmaker faces two felony charges after protesting outside the governor's office

  • ‘Designed to incite’: Tucker Carlson accused of stirring race hate by comparing Tammy Duckworth to the KKK

    Fox News host also called Barack Obama a ‘racial arsonist’

  • What Went Into Building Europe’s Largest Floating Solar Park

    For centuries the Dutch have been inventive with their use of water development, but Rotterdam's Floating Solar takes it to a whole new level

  • Asian man speaks out after he’s brutally attacked while waiting for bus in San Francisco

    Surveillance footage shows Rong Xin Liao, 84, getting kicked by a stranger

  • 'The Suicide Squad' team up to save Harley Quinn in a new trailer for the anti-hero movie

    James Gunn's "The Suicide Squad" will have a massive roster of DC characters. The film will be released August 6, 2021.

  • The James Harden trade is looking uglier and uglier for the Rockets

    The Rockets' trade of Victor Oladipo at the trade deadline has only weakened the package they got back for James Harden.

  • Civil rights groups sue Georgia over new law restricting voting access

    Several civil rights groups filed a lawsuit against Georgia election officials challenging Republican-crafted voting restrictions signed into law by Republican Gov. Brian Kemp on Thursday.Why it matters: The lawsuit from New Georgia Project, Black Voters Matter Fund and Rise alleges that the restrictions violate the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the 14th Amendment by inflicting "unjustifiable burdens" that disproportionately affect people of color and young, poor and disabled citizens.Get market news worthy of your time with Axios Markets. Subscribe for free.The Georgia law imposes new ID requirements, limits the use of ballot drop boxes, changes early voting hours, prohibits third parties from collecting absentee ballots and bans non-poll workers from giving food and water to voters in line, among other restrictions.Kemp said at the signing of the bill on Thursday that it will ensure Georgia’s elections are "secure, accessible and fair."But, but, but: Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, one of the defendants in the lawsuit, has repeatedly said his office found no evidence of widespread fraud in the 2020 election, despite baseless claims to the contrary by former President Trump.The big picture: Georgia is the first battleground state to enact sweeping new legislation rolling back voting rights in the wake of the 2020 election, which saw record levels of mail-in and early voting due to the pandemic. Dozens of GOP-led state legislatures have proposed similar voting restrictions, infuriating Democrats and voting rights activists.Read the lawsuit. Go deeper: Georgia lawmaker released on bond after arrest during signing of GOP voting billMore from Axios: Sign up to get the latest market trends with Axios Markets. Subscribe for free

  • Four killed as police in Bangladesh clash with protesters during visit by Indian PM

    COX'S BAZAR (Reuters) - Four people were killed after police fired on protesters who they said attacked a police station in the Bangladeshi city of Chittagong on Friday during a demonstration against a visit to the country by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Dozens were also hurt in the capital Dhaka where police used rubber bullets and teargas in clashes with violent protesters, witnesses said. In Chittagong, thousands of supporters of an Islamist group that accuses Modi of alienating minority Muslims in India streamed out of mosques after prayers to register their protest against his visit, police official Rafiqul Islam said.

  • Laura Ingraham cut Trump off when he tried to repeat false claims that the election was stolen, as Fox News faces defamation lawsuits

    Ingraham said she was reluctant to "relitigate" Trump's election-fraud claims and tried to usher the former president to discuss other topics.

  • Trump says he didn't listen to Fauci 'because I was doing the opposite of what he was saying' in Fox interview

    Former president calls doctor a “self promoter”