Protesters, demanding that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) refrain from filling Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s now-vacant seat on the United States Supreme Court, “occupied” parts of his neighborhood Saturday and at least one demonstrator was arrested, though the anemic protest disbanded after just three hours.
After an abortive march to McConnell’s Washington, D.C., residents Friday night — McConnell was not home to witness the event — Democrats and progressive activists pledged to target the Senate Majority Leader’s Louisville, Kentucky, home. It was not clear on Saturday that McConnell was present at that residence, either.
As The Daily Wire reported, “Democrats and, particularly, progressive activists have pledged ongoing protests targeting Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell over his plan to shepherd a replacement for the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg through the Senate confirmation process ahead of the November presidential election.”
They made good on their pledge.
“At least one protester was arrested Saturday after a group of about 100 people gathered outside” McConnell’s home Saturday, Fox News reported. “‘Ruth Sent Us,’ and ‘No Ethics No Shame,’ read some of the signs carried by crowd members in Louisville…’Hey-hey, ho-ho, Mitch McConnell has got to go,’ others chanted.”
The protest, though, was short-lived — it ended after just three hours — and largely low-key.
“One protester was arrested on charges of disorderly conduct and improper parking, after police determined she used a pharmacy parking lot without planning to patronize the store,” per Fox, citing the Louisville Courier-Journal. Police confronted several other protesters who parked cars in “no parking” zones on the residential streets surrounding McConnell’s home.
The group also pressed for locals to vote against McConnell in November. He is running against Democrat Amy McGrath and currently leads McGrath by a 2-to-1 margin.
McConnell is front and center in the fight over whether to fill a vacant Supreme Court seat, left empty when Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg passed away from complications of pancreatic cancer on Friday at age 87.
Democrats say McConnell should abide by Republicans’ 2016 pledge to keep a seat vacated by the death of Justice Antonin Scalia open pending the outcome of the 2016 presidential election, despite then-President Barack Obama’s decision to nominate Merrick Garland to the bench.
McConnell, in contrast, has pledged to shepherd a Supreme Court nominee through the Senate confirmation process if President Donald Trump appoints one — something the president is expected to do sometime this week.
McConnell says he’s changing his position on the issue “because we pledged to work with President Trump and support his agenda, particularly his outstanding appointments to the federal judiciary. Once again, we will keep our promise.”
“Americans reelected our majority in 2016 and expanded it in 2018 because we pledged to work with President Trump and support his agenda, particularly his outstanding appointments to the federal judiciary,” he added in a statement. “Once again, we will keep our promise.”
Related: Dems Pledge Ongoing Protests Over RBG Replacement, Target Mitch McConnell’s Homes In DC, KY