Protesters blocked Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., from leaving in an elevator Friday morning after he announced he would vote to confirm embattled Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.
Flake’s announcement comes one day after both Kavanaugh and his accuser, Christine Blasey Ford, testified before Congress on allegations the former tried to rape the latter when they were both in high school.
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Kavanaugh maintained throughout his testimony that he is totally innocent and that the accusation against him are unfounded. Ford maintained she is “100 percent” certain that her attacker was Kavanaugh.
Flake said Friday in a press release, “After hearing more than 30 hours of testimony from Judge Kavanaugh earlier this month, I was prepared to support his nomination based on his view of the law and his record as a judge. In fact, I commented at the time that had he been nominated in another era, he would have likely received 90+ votes.”
“What I do know is that our system of justice affords a presumption of innocence to the accused, absent corroborating evidence. That is what binds us to the rule of law. While some may argue that a different standard should apply regarding the Senate’s advice and consent responsibilities, I believe that the constitution’s provisions of fairness and due process apply here as well,” it added. “I will vote to confirm Judge Kavanaugh.”
Moments after announcing his decision, protesters in the Dirksen Senate Office Building descended on the Arizona senator to express their displeasure. One of the anti-Kavanaugh demonstrators claimed she is the victim of sexual abuse.
“On Monday, I stood in front of your office,” Ana Maria Archila shouted at Flake. “I told the story of my sexual assault.”
“I told it because I recognized in Dr. Ford’s story that she is telling the truth,” she continued. “What you are doing is allowing someone who actually violated a woman to sit on the Supreme Court. This is not tolerable. You have children in your family. Think about them.”
Another woman, Maria Gallagher, said, “I was sexually assaulted and nobody believed me. I didn’t tell anyone, and you’re telling all women that they don’t matter, that they should just stay quiet because if they tell you what happened to them you are going to ignore them. That’s what happened to me, and that’s what you are telling all women in America, that they don’t matter.”
She added, “They should just keep it to themselves because if they have told the truth, you’re just going to help that man to power anyway. That’s what you’re telling all of these women. That’s what you’re telling me right now.”
Flake listened, looking deeply uncomfortable all the while.
“Don’t look away from me,” Gallagher shouted as the senator looked around the elevator’s interior, trying to avoid eye contact. “Look at me and tell me that it doesn’t matter what happened to me, that you will let people like that go into the highest court of the land and tell everyone what they can do to their bodies.”
Members of the press swarmed Flake with cameras and microphones. They also aided the women by asking the senator repeatedly to respond to their speeches. The senator declined to respond, saying only “thank you.” He eventually squeezed past the scrum of demonstrators to get to his hearing.
Archila said later in comments to the New York Times that she wanted Flake “to feel my rage.”
