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Chelsea Manning, Raquel Willis arrested at U.S. Capitol

Chelsea Manning and Raquel Willis among 15 arrested at U.S. Capitol during bathroom sit-in

Photo credit to Alexa B Wilkinson

Chelsea Manning and Raquel Willis with protestors in U.S. Capitol bathroom

About 15 activists were arrested in the U.S. Capitol today while protesting Republicans' transgender bathroom ban with a sit-in.

Whistleblower Chelsea Manning and Raquel Willis, co-founder of the group behind the protest, Gender Liberation March, were among those detained. The group was made up of people of all gender identities, including transgender and cisgender women alike, who displayed a pink banner in front of the women's bathroom reading “Flush bathroom bigotry.”

Police officers during Capitol bathroom sit-in

Photo credit to Alexa B Wilkinson

Police officers address crowds at Capitol bathroom sit-in

The protestors also gathered outside of U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson's office, chanting “Speaker Johnson, Nancy Mace, our genders are no debate!” while another group of men and nonbinary allies displayed a yellow banner in the halls outside that read: "Congress: Stop pissing on our rights!”

“Everyone deserves to use the restroom without fear of discrimination or violence. Trans folks are no different. We deserve dignity and respect and we will fight until we get it,” Willis said in a statement. “In the 2024 election, trans folks were left to fend for ourselves after nearly $200 million of attack ads were disseminated across the United States. Now, as Republican politicians, try to remove us from public life, Democratic leaders are silent as hell. But we can’t transform bigotry and hate with inaction. We must confront it head on. Democrats must rise up, filibuster, and block this bill.”

Photo credit to Alexa B Wilkinson

Protestors arrested during Capitol bathroom sit-in

The protest was in response to U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace's recently introduced resolution that bans transgender women from using women’s restrooms at the U.S. Capitol. She has confirmed that the rule was "absolutely" targeting newly-elected Delaware Democrat Sarah McBride, the first-ever out transgender lawmaker in Congress.

Johnson supported Mace in imposing a rule that mandating all single-sex facilities in Capitol buildings — including restrooms, locker rooms, and changing rooms — be reserved strictly for people based on their gender assigned at birth. Neither Johnson nor Mace have said how they intend to enforce it.

Photo credit to Alexa B Wilkinson

Protestors arrested during Capitol bathroom sit-in

Manning, a former U.S. military intelligence analyst who was imprisoned for seven years after disclosing classified information to the public until former-President Obama commuted her sentence in 2017, said that "I'm here today because every person deserves dignity and respect, both in daily life and in more symbolic places like the U.S. Capitol."

"As someone who has fought against similar rules, I know what it's like to feel pushed aside and erased. But I also know the incredible power and resilience our community has," she said. "I'm not here as a leader or a spokesperson but simply as another member of my community who shows up unconditionally to support my siblings in this fight. I will stand beside them no matter what. We didn’t start this fight, but we are together now."