Six gun control activists were arrested by U.S. Capitol Police Tuesday afternoon for demonstrating in the Rotunda, an unauthorized area for protesters to gather, according to NBC-4.
A total of eight people took part in the protest, all of whom are relatives of people who were killed by firearms. The group sat on the floor in the Capitol Dome and held poster-sized photos of their loved ones while calling for, “No bill, no breaks.”
Four of the eight demonstrators said a child died due to gun violence. Two people lost their mothers, one was a survivor from the Tucson shooting former Democratic Rep. Gabby Giffords was injured in, and another woman said 24 people she had known died in shootings.
Capitol Police have not confirmed which of the six people were arrested and why the other two, associated with the group, were not taken into custody as well. The group did not share how they organized the small event or were connected.
One of the members said the group had one message for House Speaker Paul Ryan following his calling the House Democrats’ sit-in a “political stunt.”
“It was no political stunt, and the mention that it was is completely appalling. It’s a slap in the face to me and countless other survivors of gun violence in this country,” Eddie Weingart told NBC-4.
