Dozens of protesters marched along the street in front of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s home in D.C.’s Stanton Park neighborhood early Thursday morning.
The demonstrators, spurred by the Kentucky Republican’s pledge to move forward with a vote on a nominee to fill the vacancy left by the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the Supreme Court, started playing music and chanting after 7 a.m.
Protesters wearing face masks were seen holding signs reading “I want you to use my words against me” and “hypocrite,” referencing when McConnell declined to act in 2016 on the nomination of Merrick Garland to succeed the late Justice Antonin Scalia.
Pretty sizable crowd and a GoGo band at 7:30 AM, moving towards Mitch McConnell’s house for an early morning wake up call #DCProtests pic.twitter.com/poYZ3INDoD
— Jane Recker (@janerecker) September 24, 2020
The morning protest was organized by Sunrise DC, Long Live Go Go and Shut Down DC ahead of President Donald Trump’s Saturday announcement of his choice for a Supreme Court nominee. Earlier this week, protesters gathered outside Sen. Lindsey Graham’s D.C. home.
Protest at .@senatemajldr house this morning. You are a liar and a hypocrite #McConnell. Resign! #HonorHerWish and keep the same precedent you set with #MerrickGarland. People are already voting, unlike when Scalia died in February ’16. pic.twitter.com/WbKTdb64yM
— Manthos for WV (@Manthos4WV) September 24, 2020
The protests happened only blocks away from where Ginsburg is being remembered Thursday as she lies in repose at the Supreme Court.
Ginsburg told her granddaughter she wanted her replacement to be appointed by the next president, NPR reported. “My most fervent wish is that I will not be replaced until a new president is installed,” she dictated to granddaughter Clara Spera days before her death.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
