Washington D.C. police arrested renowned faith-based leader Rev. William Barber and fellow Christian leaders for collectively praying.
According to Religious News Service, the civil rights leader entered the government building with Rev. Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove and Steve Swayne, the director of St. Francis Springs Prayer Center, and positioned themselves in the U.S. Capitol’s Rotunda to pray publicly on April 28. The fellowship focused on calling for divine opposition against the budget cuts that would impact those on Medicaid, SNAP, TANF and child welfare programs.
Rev. William Barber and others were arrested after protesting inside the Capitol Rotunda
Less than 20 minutes after the men began, a large number of police officers approached the trio, some ready to detain them.
“When we cannot depend on the courts and the legislative power of human beings, we can still depend on … the power of your love and your mercy and your truth,” Barber said when he noticed authorities around them, according to Religious News.
Following the law enforcement advising the church leaders to stop, they completely removed everyone on the same floor before arresting them for “crowding, obstructing and incommoding” because the Rotunda is “not a dedicated press area unless it’s for a pre-approved event,” according to a Capitol police spokesperson.
There were concerns about how Barber held up while in police custody since he has a sporadic walking disability due to a chronic illness. He confirmed with Religion News that there weren’t any tense encounters with the police. Although the reverend was taken aback by what occurred, he’s glad it attracted attention to help shine a light on the proposed changes to the federal safety net initiative.
“To think that we went in to pray — pray against the budget, but to pray nonetheless — and the order now is that, evidently, if you pray, you are seen as violating the rules of the Rotunda,” he shared. “What we hope is that folks will see this and it will begin to remove some of the fear, and people will understand that this is the time — now — that we must engage in nonviolent direct action to register our discontent.”
Faith leaders rally outside the Supreme Court building
In his defense, Barber and his supporters chose to protest at the U.S. Supreme Court building. Other religious leaders like Rev. Teresa Hord (Owens of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)), Sheila Katz (CEO of the National Council of Jewish Women), Imam Talib M. Shareef (the historic Masjid Muhammad), Marc H. Morial (National Urban League), and Sarah Anderson (Institute for Policy Studies) were in attendance.
“Forty-three percent of women and almost half of all children are poor and low income,” Barber told the crowd, citing an assessment of Economic Policy Institute data. “Somebody ought to say something … Somebody gotta challenge this budget.”
