Tipsheet

Reports: Capitol Police Respond to Pro-Weed Demonstrators Trying to Accost GOP Rep. Andy Harris

Update:

Capitol Police confirmed to Townhall Tuesday that "demonstrators were attempting to enter," Rep. Andy Harris's office and "In addition, two demonstrators were observed to display and light marijuana cigarettes."  

The "two female Suspects were arrested and transported to USCP Headquarters for processing."

The women arrested for consumption and possession of marijuana in a public space were Kristin Furnish, age 28, from Salisbury, Maryland, and Rachel Ramon Donlan, age 46, from Washington, D.C.

Original Post

Jennifer Bendery, the senior politics reporter at The Huffington Post, first reported Tuesday that Rep. Andy Harris (R-MD) was accosted by demonstrators in his office.

Bendery said the demonstrators were “smoking weed” and a demonstrator pushed Harris’s office door open. U.S. Capitol police told her there were no injuries.

Fox’s Chad Pergram reported that two female protesters confronted Harris as he was heading out of his office to preside over a pro forma session in the House. A tussle ensued and Harris’s hand reportedly got jammed in the door.

Video of the incident, however, simply shows two women trying to push their way in after Harris as he enters his office and slams the door shut. One of the women later tried to jam her foot in the door.

In response to the video, Bendery said that the incident didn't look like assault.

Fox was also told that one of the protestors was sent to the hospital after she fell and said she was injured.

Roll Call reports that “Capitol Police shut down the hallway” in the House Longworth building as protestor Rachel Ramone “lay down and smoked marijuana in the hallway outside Harris’s office. Officers later removed Ramone in a wheelchair and handcuffs.”

They say the demonstrators were from DC Marijuana Justice and the newly-formed Maryland Marijuana Justice. These groups "advocate marijuana legalization as an alternative to the opioid crisis" and were outside Harris’s office to "stage an overdose.”

This story has been updated with a statement from the Capitol Police.