Georgia state rep is removed by capitol police AND arrested after she tried to BLOCK Gov. Brian Kemp from signing voting overhaul law
Georgia state troopers were captured on video forcibly removing a Democratic lawmaker from outside Brian Kemp's office after she attempted to protest the governor's signing of a bill that overhauls the state's troubled voting procedures.
Kemp drew protests Thursday as he signed into law the sweeping Republican-sponsored overhaul of state elections that includes greater legislative control over how elections are run.
As Kemp delivered his remarks about the bill, he was interrupted by a commotion before a livestream of the event cut out.
Democratic state Rep Park Cannon was arrested by Capitol police amid a protest after knocking on the door of the governor's office during his remarks.
Video captured by a bystander shows Cannon, who is handcuffed with her arms behind her back, being forcibly removed from the Capitol by two officers, one on each arm.
Georgia state troopers were captured on video forcibly removing Democratic lawmaker Park Cannon (left knocking on Brian Kemp's door and right being handcuffed) from outside Brian Kemp's office after she attempted to protest the governor's signing of a bill
As Kemp delivered his remarks about the bill, he was interrupted by a commotion before a livestream of the event cut out. Rep Cannon (pictured in red) was arrested by Capitol police amid a protest after knocking on the door of the governor's office during his remarks
Video captured by a bystander shows Cannon, who is handcuffed with her arms behind her back, being forcibly removed from the Capitol by two officers, one on each arm
She says 'where are you taking me?' and 'stop' as she is taken from the building
She says 'where are you taking me?' and 'stop' as she is taken from the building.
In one clip of the video, Cannon says she's 'not doing anything' as police pull her through a metal detector and out the entrance of the building.
Other women, who appear to be a mix of lawmakers and reporters, are also heard questioning the officers about Cannon being forced outside.
Images from the Associated Press show Cannon being placed into the back of a patrol car. Cannon was charged with felony obstruction of law enforcement, punishable by 1 to 5 years in prison, and with disrupting a session of the General Assembly.
She was being held at the Fulton County jail, said an email from a Georgia State Patrol spokesperson, Lieut W. Mark Riley.
Just before 9.30pm, Cannon's lawyer, Gerald Griggs tweeted that the lawmaker 'is in the process of being released from the jail now'.
Video from the Atlanta branch of the NAACP showed protesters standing outside the jail in solidarity with Cannon.
The clip then shows Sen Raphael Warnock walking in the rain and into the building to 'get Representative Park Cannon', the NAACP said.
Cannon was protesting the signing of the bill, which Democrats and voting rights groups say will disproportionately disenfranchise voters of color.
It is one of a wave of GOP-backed election bills introduced in states around the country after former President Donald Trump stoked false claims that fraud led to his 2020 election defeat.
President Joe Biden called such GOP efforts 'un-American' and 'sick' during a news conference Thursday.
The Republican changes to voting law in Georgia follows record-breaking turnout that led to Democratic victories in the presidential contest and two US Senate runoffs in the once reliably red state.
Images from the Associated Press show Cannon being placed into the back of a patrol car
Cannon was charged with felony obstruction of law enforcement, punishable by 1 to 5 years in prison, and with disrupting a session of the General Assembly
Cannon was released form the Fulton County Jail in Atlanta, Georgia, early Friday morning
Protesters waited for Cannon to be released from the Fulton County Jail in Atlanta
Demonstrators gathered outside the Fulton County Jail in Atlanta late Thursday night and waited hours for Cannon's release Friday morning
Just before 9.30pm, Cannon's (pictured) lawyer tweeted that the lawmaker 'is in the process of being released from the jail now'
'After the November election last year, I knew, like so many of you, that significant reforms to our state elections were needed,' said Kemp, who drew Trump's ire after certifying Biden's victory in Georgia.
Kemp signed the bill less than two hours after it cleared the Georgia General Assembly.
The bill passed the state House 100-75, before the state Senate quickly agreed to House changes, 34-20. Republicans in the legislature supported it. Democrats were opposed.
At his first news conference, Biden harshly criticized Republican moves to limit voting rights.
'The Republican voters I know find this despicable, Republican voters, the folks outside this White House. I'm not talking about the elected officials. I'm talking about voters. Voters. And so I'm convinced that we'll be able to stop this because it is the most pernicious thing.' Biden said.
In Georgia, Democratic state Senate Minority Leader Gloria Butler called the efforts by Republicans 'voter suppression tactics'.
'We are witnessing right now a massive and unabashed assault on voting rights unlike anything we've seen since the Jim Crow era,' Butler added.
The law requires a photo ID in order to vote absentee by mail, after more than 1.3 million Georgia voters used that option during the COVID-19 pandemic.
It also cuts the time people have to request an absentee ballot and limits where ballot drop boxes can be placed and when they can be accessed.
Democratic Rep Rhonda Burnough said the bill is based on lies told by Republicans after November's election.
'Georgians turned out in record-breaking numbers because they could access the ballot,' Burnough said. 'Lies upon lies were told about our elections in response, and now this bill is before us built on those same lies.'
Kemp (center on Thursday) signed the bill less than two hours after it cleared the Georgia General Assembly
African Methodist Episcopal Church Bishop Reginald Jackson announces a boycott of Coca-Cola Co products outside the Georgia Capitol on Thursday in Atlanta. Jackson says Coca-Cola and other large Georgia companies haven't done enough to oppose restrictive voting bills
Ann White of Roswell holds protest signs on the North Wing stairs of the Georgia State Capitol building on day 38 of the legislative session in Atlanta on Thursday
Republican Rep Jan Jones said the provisions cutting the time people have to request an absentee ballot are meant to 'increase the likelihood of a voter's vote being cast successfully,' after concerns were raised about mail ballots not being received in time to be counted.
One of the biggest changes gives the GOP-controlled legislature more control over election administration. That has raised alarms about potential greater partisan influence.
The law replaces the elected secretary of state as the chair of the state election board with a new appointee of the legislature after Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger rebuffed Trump's attempts to overturn Georgia's election results.
It also allows the board to remove and replace county election officials deemed to be underperforming.
That provision is widely seen as something that could be used to target Fulton County, a Democratic stronghold covering most of Atlanta, which came under fire after long lines plagued summertime primary elections.
Republican Rep Barry Fleming, a driving force in crafting the law, said that provision would only be a 'temporary fix, so to speak, that ends and the control is turned back over to the locals after the problems are resolved.'
The law also reduces the timeframe in which runoff elections are held, including the amount of early voting for runoffs.
And it bars outside groups from handing out food or water to people in line to vote.
The law does not contain some of the more contentious proposals floated by Republicans earlier in the session, including limits on early voting on Sundays, a popular day for black churchgoers to vote in 'souls to the polls' events.
It instead mandates two Saturdays of early voting ahead of general elections, when only one had been mandatory, and leaves two Sundays as optional.
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