On Thursday, more than two dozen transgender people and friends held a sit-in in a bathroom at the U.S. Capitol to protest a policy that would stop the country’s first openly trans member of Congress from using the stalls for women.
A spokesperson for the U.S. Capitol Police, Brianna Burch, said that about 15 of the 25 protesters were arrested for protesting illegally inside the Cannon House Office Building in the U.S. Capitol building. They did this by breaking a Washington, D.C., code about crowding and obstructing.
Some people held a sit-in protest inside and outside of the women’s bathroom closest to House Speaker Mike Johnson’s office because he backed a policy introduced last month by Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., that she said would stop Rep.-elect Sarah McBride, D-Del., from using the Capitol’s women’s restrooms.
According to Mace’s resolution, lawmakers and House workers would not be able to “use single-sex facilities other than those corresponding to their biological sex.” According to her, the measure was meant to go after McBride, and she also said, “I am going to stand in the way of any man who wants to be in a women’s restroom, in our locker rooms, in our changing rooms.”
The Gender Liberation Movement, the group behind the protest, said that Chelsea Manning, a former Army intelligence officer and trans advocate, and Raquel Willis, a trans journalist and author, were both held on Thursday.
“Speaker Johnson, Nancy Mace, our genders are no debate” was chanted by protesters during the sit-in, which was caught on video.
“Democrats, grow a spine, trans lives are on the line,” said Abby Stein, a rabbi, author, and trans champion.
Stein told NBC News after the protest, “This isn’t just about Republicans.” She wasn’t jailed. “It’s also about the Democratic Party; we want them to know and feel that we are here.”
Stein said that the activists decided to sit in to show that they will not be ignored.
“We’re not something out of your mind that you can use to make people afraid,” she said. “We are real people who are here.” It’s not just about bathrooms. This is about making sure everyone is safe, not just women.
Mace shared a video on social media after the protest in which he called the protesters an anti-trans term. She then used a speaker to read the protesters their Miranda rights while standing outside of what looked like a Capitol police station.
As a co-founder of the Gender Liberation Movement, Willis said that trans people should be able to use the bathroom without fear of being harassed or hurt, just like everyone else.
She said in a statement released by the group after her arrest, “In the 2024 election, trans folks were left to fend for ourselves after nearly $200 million of attack ads were shown across the United States.” The statement used political advertising statistics gathered by Ad Impact. The Democratic leaders are very quiet while Republicans try to get rid of us from public life. But we can’t change racism and hate by doing nothing. We need to face it straight on. The Democrats need to stand up, delay, and stop this bill.
Manning said she went to the protest because she has fought against rules like these before and knows what it’s like to be “pushed aside and erased.”
In a statement put out by the Gender Liberation Movement, she said, “I’m not here as a leader or a spokesperson; I’m just another member of my community who shows up to support my siblings in this fight.” “No matter what, I will stand with them.” We didn’t start this fight, but we’re now back together.
McBride did not answer right away when asked for a statement on the protest.
She wrote on X on November 20 in response to Mace’s idea and Johnson’s answer, “I’m not here to fight about bathrooms.” I’m here to fight for people in Delaware and lower the costs that families have to pay. I will follow Speaker Johnson’s rules, even if I don’t agree with them, just like every other member.
She also said, “This attempt to take attention away from the real problems facing this country hasn’t stopped me over the last few days; I’ve been hard at work getting ready to represent the best state in the union in January.”
