Dem. Congressmen, Amnesty Activists Arrested in Immigration Protest

Democratic Reps. Charles Rangel, Luis Gutierrez, Keith Ellison, Joseph Crowley, Al Green, and John Lewis, along with several other pro-amnesty activists, union members, and other left-wing protesters, got themselves arrested on purpose on Tuesday afternoon in a statement made in support of comprehensive immigration reform.

Only a few hundred demonstrators participated in the part of the rally that led to the arrests, while several thousand rallied on the National Mall earlier in the day.

NBC’s Washington, D.C. affiliate reports 200 were arrested on scene while a couple hundred activists cheered the demonstrators on from the sidewalks on both sides of First Street between Maryland Avenue Southwest and Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest. {snip}

Those lining the streets would cheer and chant things like “Yes we can!” and “Si Se Puede!” whenever another person volunteered to be arrested and whenever they were taken in groups into police transport units to be taken to the authorities for processing.

At least 150 Capitol Hill police officers were on scene to arrest the protesters who sought to be arrested. {snip}

The amnesty activists also littered signs, papers, flyers, and other materials for their cause along the street, forcing the unpaid Capitol Hill police officers to clean up the street in the shadow of the Capitol building up after them. Officers could be seen bending down to pick up the trash left along the sidewalks, as hundreds of amnesty activists cheered those being arrested.

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[Editor’s Note: The Washington Post notes that turnout was expected in the tens of thousands, but that “the crowd was considerably smaller, and grew even smaller after a popular singing group finished its performance.” VDARE adds that the band, Los Tigres Del Norte, is apparently revanchist.]