Dozens Arrested Outside Sen. Sinema's Phoenix Office

By Matthew Casey
Published: Monday, July 26, 2021 - 4:39pm
Updated: Tuesday, July 27, 2021 - 5:50am

Audio icon Download mp3 (1.35 MB)

The Rev. Jesse Jackson
Matthew Casey/KJZZ
The Rev. Jesse Jackson leads protesters toward Sen. Kyrsten Sinema's Phoenix office on July 26, 2021.

Phoenix police arrested more than three dozen protesters Monday outside Democratic Sen. Kyrsten Sinema’s office on Camelback Road.

Among those who refused law enforcement’s order to leave a second-story balcony was a civil rights leader who worked with Martin Luther King Jr. 

Speeches at Kachina Park and then a mile walk in the heat culminated when about 150 protesters arrived at Sinema’s office chanting "end the filibuster now."

The group demanded Sinema withdraw support of Senate rules that let minority Republicans block Democrat priorities like voting rights legislation.

Phoenix police had repeatedly warned that everyone was trespassing. The press were included in a final order to leave or be taken into custody by waiting officers.

The Rev. Jesse Jackson, who is 79 and has Parkinson’s disease, was among the 39 people arrested.

Standing in front of the entrance to Sinema’s office, Jackson told the crowd they were acting in the tradition of MLK and Nelson Mandela.  

Protesters
Matthew Casey/KJZZ
Protesters head toward Democratic Sen. Kyrsten Sinema’s office on Camelback Road on July 26, 2021.

Politics