Thirteen activists were arrested Tuesday morning outside the Supreme Court, ahead of oral arguments in a case that could dramatically limit access to mifepristone, a widely used abortion pill.
At approximately 8:45 a.m. EDT, U.S. Capitol Police (USCP) arrested 13 people who, a police spokesperson said in a statement, were “illegally blocking roads and then a walkway.”
The spokesperson added that USCP officers warned the group to stop “blocking the walkway or they would be arrested.”
“They refused, so our officers arrested them,” they said, citing crowding, obstructing, or incommoding as possible offenses.
The momentous Supreme Court case drew fierce demonstrations from both sides of the debate, as the nation’s highest court returned to the issue of reproductive rights nearly two years after its landmark decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, subsequently ending the federal right to an abortion.
Hundreds of people gathered outside the court, and supporters of abortion held signs reading “Bans off our body” and “Abortion is our right.” Opponents held signs with messages including “Abortion pills kill.”
According to video footage of the arrest from ABC News, some of the protestors appeared to wear shirts advocating in favor of abortion rights and access to mifepristone.
“Feminists vs. Fascists” read the words on a shirt of an individual as he was being arrested, the video showed.
Another person arrested wore a shirt that repeated the phrase “Miso &,” referring to the combination of mifepristone and misoprostol that is often administered for a medical abortion. Another shirt, partially obstructed, appeared to read, “bans off our bodies,” per ABC News.
It was not immediately clear whether the 13 people arrested were affiliated with any specific group.
