Democracy springs for St. Michael's first year
A St. Michael’s College first-year was among 429 people arrested on Capitol Hill last week during a protest for voter rights. After receiving an email entitled “Come Get Arrested With Me,” Aidan McMurrer, ’19, was intrigued by the idea of a protest on Capitol Hill, organized by a group called Democracy Spring.
“The overarching goal was one person, one vote, and get the money out of politics,” said McMurrer. “I was taken away in one of the first few buses of people. The police were only expecting 200 of us.”
As the start of the protest, 150 people marched from Philadelphia to Washington D.C. Ten days and 140 miles later, protesters reached the capitol and prepared for a week of nonviolent sit-ins on Capitol Hill. McMurrer joined the march on April 8 in Elkridge, Md., and completed the final two days of the march before joining the first day of
peaceful protest on April 11.
Though several hundred protesters reached Capitol Hill the first day of the sit-in, 1,240 had been arrested by the end of the week, according to USA Today. By Monday, the final day of protest, approximately 1,300 people had been arrested for taking action on the steps of the U.S. Capitol.
The group called on Congress to reform the influence of money in politics and alter restrictions on voting rights. According to the Democracy Spring website, the movement’s mission was to demand four bills to be passed in Congress: The Voting Rights Advancement Act, The Voter Empowerment Act, The Democracy for All Amendment, The Government by the People & Fair Elections Now Act.
The night before the sit-in, the marchers were given civil disobedience training, in order to learn how to de-escalate a situation with police should one arise at the protest. “People from all over the country had come [to the civil disobedience training], and they turned people away because they reached capacity” McMurrer said.
The following morning, the first day of the protest, the marchers gathered at Columbus Circle for a rally, where Kai Newkirk, a lead organizer of the protest, spoke. Afterwards, the group made its way through the streets of Washington D.C. to the nation’s Capitol building. Some of McMurrer’s fellow protesters throughout the week included Vermont’s Finest themselves, Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, co-founders of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream. Actress Rosario Dawson and NAACP President Cornell Brooks were arrested, as well.
“I was holding a big banner that said ‘Democracy Spring: One Person, One Vote’ that spanned the length of the Capitol’s steps,” McMurrer said. “The cops told us to take that down and we complied. I sat down after giving them the banner, and we just chanted and sang songs.”
Over the span of approximately 40 minutes, the police issued three warnings to the protestors. Having ignored the warnings, McMurrer was arrested, along with 428 other people that day. He was issued a ticket for “obstruction/incommoding,” and a fine of $50.00. He is not scheduled to return for a court date.
“They had to bus us into the jail,” McMurrer said. “I was there for about five hours. It took a long time to process because there were so many people.”
McMurrer expected his arrest at the protest. “The cops agreed with us, they told us that,” said McMurrer. “The cops weren’t the people we were trying to get a message to, that was Congress.”
USA Today also reported that leaders of Democracy Spring have announced that Democracy Spring plans to expand to protest state election campaigns next.
“Success isn’t the right word for what went on with Democracy Spring,” McMurrer said. “Will it have an impact? Yes. Will it be immediate? No.”
