Protesters with physical disabilities showed up Sunday at the home of Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar to demonstrate against what they said was his agency’s ignoring a special needs facility that shocks its patients as punishment.
Members of ADAPT, a nonprofit that promotes rights for people with disabilities, went to Azar’s home in Meridian Hills, Ind., to chant and hold up signs outside, according to the Indianapolis Star.
The group asserts that staff at Judge Rotenberg Educational Center, a special needs facility in Massachusetts, uses tools to shock patients for misbehavior.
As the rain begins to come down hard, a large number of accessible transport vehicles arrive at the home of Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar to transport protestors from the north side pic.twitter.com/tdxsPWe3Rz
— Justin L. Mack (@justinlmack) June 10, 2018
“This morning, uninvited protestors refused to leave private property when asked by local police. They did not have a permit to protest at this private residence,” HHS spokeswoman Caitlin Oakley, said in a statement to the paper. “The department meets with advocacy organizations, on a multitude of topics, via the appropriate channels.”
