On Saturday, April 28, 2025, as clergy – including Bishop William J. Barber, II – and people of moral conscience respectfully prayed in the rotunda of the United States Capitol, they were arrested.
Capitol Police not only removed those who were praying aloud but cleared the room entirely. Reporters were threatened with arrest for remaining in the Rotunda. The public and cameras, including those belonging to press outlets, were banned from the area.
The arrests occurred roughly 15 minutes after Barber, the Rev. Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove, and Steve Swayne, director of St. Francis Springs Prayer Center, began praying in the Rotunda as dozens of police stood nearby, some prepared with plastic handcuffs. The three took turns praying, lamenting potential budget cuts to social safety-net programs such as Medicaid, often chanting together: “Against the conspiracy of cruelty, we plead the power of your mercy.”
Clergy and People of Moral Conscience Arrested for Praying Inside the United States Capitol
According to Capitol Police, demonstrating is not allowed in any form inside Congressional buildings. The three members of the clergy were charged with “crowding, obstructing, or incommoding,” a Capitol Police spokesperson said in an email.
The arrests followed a rally nearby outside the US Supreme Court building, where Barber rallied with other clergy and faith leaders, as well as federal workers who lost their jobs, to condemn the GOP-led budget.
Incommoding: to inconvenience or discomfort; disturb; trouble. Apparently, praying too hard for poor people now legally constitutes a disturbance.
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