Democratic State Representative Arrested, Dragged Out of Capitol by Troopers

By Johnathan Jones March 26, 2021 at 12:56pm

Democratic Georgia state Rep. Park Cannon was arrested and had to be forcibly removed by state troopers from the state Capitol on Thursday during an incursion in which she attempted to prevent the state’s Republican governor from signing a bill into law that would help to secure state election integrity.

Better late than never, GOP Gov. Brian Kemp, in a closed-door event, signed the state legislature-backed bill, S.B. 202, which will restrict voting by mail, bolster voter I.D. laws and broadly protect the state’s control over how it handles its elections.

I was proud to sign S.B. 202 to ensure elections in Georgia are secure, fair, and accessible. I appreciate the hard work of members of the General Assembly to make it easy to vote and hard to cheat. pic.twitter.com/1ztPnfD6rd

— Governor Brian P. Kemp (@GovKemp) March 25, 2021

Cannon, as radical Democrats so often do, threw a fit, as the bill is apparently racist — just like everything else Democrats don’t agree with. She showed up at the Capitol event and interrupted the bill signing by pounding on the door.

“Why are you arresting her?” This Facebook Live video from @TWareStevens shows the moment authorities detained state Rep. Park Cannon as @GovKemp was behind those doors signing elections restrictions into law. #gapol pic.twitter.com/U1xMJ6tZrY

— Greg Bluestein (@bluestein) March 25, 2021

“Cannon was with several other protesters when she knocked on Kemp’s office door, saying the public should be allowed to witness the announcement of the bill signing. The sweeping legislation requires ID for absentee ballots, limits drop boxes and changes early voting hours,” The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

WAGA-TV reported the Georgia State Patrol issued a statement on Cannon’s behavior and arrest.

Do you think Cannon should be labeled an "insurrectionist"?

“Rep. Cannon went inside the stanchions and began knocking on the door. Rep. Cannon was instructed to stop knocking on the door and that Governor Kemp was having a press conference inside,” the statement read.

“Rep. Cannon continued to knock on the door and was instructed again to stop knocking on the door. She was advised that she was disturbing what was going on inside and if she did not stop, she would be placed under arrest,” the statement continued.

“Rep. Cannon stepped back for a moment and then stepped back up to the door and started knocking on the door again. She was again advised if she did not stop, she would be arrested for obstruction and disturbing the press conference.”

Cannon was cuffed and arrested, and taken to jail for her behavior. CNN reported she faces felony charges of obstruction and preventing or disrupting the general assembly session.

The Georgia Democrat was attempting to disrupt the democratic process in a way arguably similar to what occurred during the Jan. 6 incursion into the U.S. Capitol. Is she being labeled an “insurrectionist”? Of course not. She’s being celebrated as a hero online by Democrats who aren’t intelligent enough to see the glaring double standard here.

Look at these tweets from Georgia’s Democratic senators, Jon Ossoff and the Rev. Raphael Warnock, endorsing her behavior.

I stand with Georgia State Rep. Park Cannon (@Cannonfor58), who was arrested and CHARGED WITH A FELONY for … for what?

For *knocking on Gov. Kemp’s office door* as she tried to observe the cowardly closed-door signing ceremony for the voter suppression law. pic.twitter.com/hpp6ZQxo2r

— Jon Ossoff (@ossoff) March 26, 2021

Yesterday, on the anniversary of Dr. King & activists arriving in Montgomery, my church member @Cannonfor58 was arrested for seeking transparency in gov’t. It’s abhorrent.

This democracy belongs to the people. We’re exhausted—we’ve been exhausted—but we’re still fighting.

— Senator Reverend Raphael Warnock (@SenatorWarnock) March 26, 2021

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said on Friday during her daily media briefing she was concerned about Cannon’s arrest when asked about the matter by a reporter.

“I think anyone who saw that video would have been deeply concerned,” Psaki said. “She simply, by the video that was provided, seemed to be knocking on the door to — to see if she could watch a bill being signed into law.”

Psaki’s response to Georgia state Rep. Park Cannon being arrested in Georgia’s Capitol for protesting new voting restrictions: “Anyone who saw that video would have been deeply concerned by the actions that were taken by law enforcement” https://t.co/uE5ayLOjCJ pic.twitter.com/pacFXRyQyK

— CBS News (@CBSNews) March 26, 2021

“The largest concern here obviously beyond her being treated in the manner she was, which is of course of great concern, is the law that was put into place,” Psaki added.

Psaki made no mention of the fact that Cannon had entered a public building with the apparent aim to disrupt a legal process.

Per standards set by Democrats and the establishment media in recent months, Cannon should have used her position as a lawmaker to oppose the bill, and not resort to storming a building to protest something with which she disagreed. Being that Cannon is both a Democrat and African-American, she’s been afforded a pass and is now apparently a civil rights icon.

Democrats, of course, think we’re all stupid.

Cannon, who has connected the election integrity bill to “white supremacy,” tweeted Friday morning that she was out of jail.

But someday soon that last person will step out of jail for the last time and breathe a first breath knowing that no one will be jailed again for fighting for the right to vote. #SB202

— Representative Park Cannon (@Cannonfor58) March 26, 2021

The Democrat has not offered a lucid explanation for how S.B. 202 will disenfranchise minority voters.

Submit a Correction →