Reportedly "arrested" for "civil disobedience" — that is, blocking traffic — outside the Supreme Court in protest of the recent Dobbs decision, more than 30 radical Democrats, including several lawmakers, took their antics a bit too far beyond the point of believability.
Multiple members of Congress, including @AOC, being arrested by Capitol Police for blocking traffic outside the Supreme Court in abortion rights demonstration: pic.twitter.com/fysQN1oBAw
— Andrew Solender (@AndrewSolender) July 19, 2022
Here's video of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) being led away from the front of the Supreme Court by Capitol Police officers with her hands behind her back as if in handcuffs... but then she raised her fist over her head revealing that the "arms-behind-your-back" look was pure choreographed political theater, before going back to pretending to be in cuffs.
AOC gets escorted away from SCOTUS by police…
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) July 19, 2022
…and she pretends that she’s been handcuffed. pic.twitter.com/3Cv0s5KQH7
Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) also tweeted that she was the victim of...the consequences of her own actions. Despite being "arrested" and walking away — not even escorted by a police officer in the video she shared below — with her hands behind her back, until she too raises a fist in defiance revealing there are no cuffs.
Today I was arrested while participating in a civil disobedience action with my fellow Members of Congress outside the Supreme Court.
— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) July 19, 2022
I will continue to do everything in my power to raise the alarm about the assault on our reproductive rights! ???pic.twitter.com/rpFYOGBDf4
Unless Capitol Police are now using handcuffs that allow arrestees to raise just one arm to wave at supporters, there weren't restraints involved. But that didn't stop some in the media from taking the bait set by Reps. Omar and Ocasio-Cortez to erroneously report that the videos they shared showed them placed in cuffs.
Among many reports of multiple female Members of Congress include @ilhanmn being arrested this video has been posted on Facebook which shows a woman who appears to be Rep Omar in handcuffs pic.twitter.com/biXuYIjMFS
— esme murphy (@esmemurphy) July 19, 2022
As Katie pointed out on Twitter, this kind of political kabuki theater isn't a new venture for AOC:
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She does this pretend act a lot https://t.co/M3TZOuKg8x pic.twitter.com/iHRRj0C3el
— Katie Pavlich (@KatiePavlich) July 19, 2022
UPDATE: The media that apparently fell for Omar's handcuff prank are now saying it's "not clear" whether she was in handcuffs despite the video showing that she's absolutely not in handcuffs.
Correction : it’s not clear in this video of @ilhanmn that she is in handcuffs - staff says she has been taken into custody along with other MOC during a pro abortion rights protest - it looks at the end of the clip that she is not in cuffs pic.twitter.com/PLtGJ2dR5C
— esme murphy (@esmemurphy) July 19, 2022