PHOENIX (3TV / CBS 5) – A protest involving thousands of people in support of abortion rights at the Capitol in Arizona ended when Department of Homeland Security soldiers used tear gas to disperse the crowd Friday night. At around 8:45 p.m., protesters slammed the windows of the Arizona Senate and tried to break the glass, the MRF reported. A video posted on Twitter by Senator Michelle Ugenti-Rita heard a crash as hundreds of people were outside the building. You can see someone kicking the locked doors in the building outside. Tear gas was then used and the crowd dispersed. Some witnesses outside the building said tear gas was used without warning. The DPS said the gas was put back on Wesley Bolin Square after the mob vandalized a monument.
The demonstrators began to gather peacefully at 7 p.m. They then marched around the Capitol. Many of them put up signs reading “Stop SCOTUS” and “Forbid our bodies.” They also chanted “My body, my choice.” The protest was quiet for most of the night, even with a few counter-protesters arriving and showing crucifixes. Law enforcement officers in riot gear were then spotted in the Senate building, with protesters still outside and in the courtyard between the Senate and the House of Representatives about an hour and a half after the rally began. Then the knocking on the windows and doors of the Senate began. A video of witnesses shows soldiers who were at the Capitol Museum in Arizona firing tear gas at the square. After tear gas was fired, protesters dispersed. Some firefighters have appeared to help those who have had severe reactions to the gas.
A new video from a witness shows the moments when the MRF fired tear gas in the crowd against the protesters in the Capitol in Arizona.
Meanwhile, the Senate is still sitting, voting to expand school vouchers. After the vote, Karen Fan cleared the Senate, citing a “security situation.” The soldiers then used tear gas. Officials said the Senate building had not been breached. The senators went to their halls. “We are incredibly grateful to our local law enforcement agencies who intervened quickly during a situation that could be devastating and dangerous for our members, staff and the public in the Senate,” Senate President Karen Fan said in a statement. The U.S. Senate then convened in a hearing room to continue its work.
Most protesters are disappointed with the court’s decision on Friday to overturn Rowe against Wade. This opens the door for states to come up with their own abortion laws, and protesters believe Arizona’s law, which is expected to take effect in 90 days, is too restrictive. The law prohibits abortion after 15 weeks. One protester said it did not give women enough time to know if they were pregnant. “Many women don’t realize they’re pregnant until they’re two or three months pregnant. So when we find out, it will be too late to have an abortion, “said Selina Martinez-Ashburn. Fifteen weeks is almost four months. In a poll last month, 87 percent of Arizona voters supported some form of legalized abortion, and only 13 percent said it should be illegal under any circumstances.
A protest in support of the Arizona Capitol election was shattered when MRF soldiers used tear gas.
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