Georgia lawmaker released after arrest during governor's signing of GOP voting restrictions
26 March 2021
Georgia State Rep. Park Cannon (D) was released on bond late Thursday after being arrested and forcibly removed from the Capitol for attempting to knock on the door of Gov. Brian Kemp (R), who was in the process of signing a sweeping GOP-sponsored bill to curb voting access.
Why it matters: The video of Cannon's arrest went viral Thursday night, as Georgia again became ground zero for the national debate over voting rights.
The big picture: The bill Kemp signed is one of dozens of voting-rights rollbacks making their way through state GOP legislatures, an effort that President Biden on Thursday labeled "sick" and "un-American."
- The Georgia law imposes new ID requirements, limits the use of ballot drop boxes, and changes early voting hours, among other things. Kemp said at the signing that it will ensure Georgia’s elections are "secure, accessible and fair."
- Democrats in Congress have named the "For the People Act," a landmark piece of federal legislation that would expand voting rights, reduce money in politics and limit partisan gerrymandering, as a top priority to counter Republicans' voting restrictions, which some have likened to "Jim Crow in new clothes."
The state of play: Cannon was charged with obstruction of law enforcement and disrupting a session of the Georgia General Assembly, after she knocked on Kemp's door and called on him to sign the bill in public.
- Sen. Reverend Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) visited Park in Fulton County jail after she was detained.
- “What we have witnessed today is a desperate attempt to lock out and squeeze the people out of their own democracy,” Warnock, who was elected to the Senate in January, said outside the jail. “We are going to take this fight to give the people their voices back.”
What they're saying: "Hey everyone, thank you for your support. I’ve been released from jail. I am not the first Georgian to be arrested for fighting voter suppression. I’d love to say I’m the last, but we know that isn’t true," Cannon tweeted after midnight.
- "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."
“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. #gapolpic.twitter.com/U1xMJ6tZrY
— Greg Bluestein (@bluestein) March 25, 2021
Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times
Section2Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.
Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.
The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.
- The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.
What the transcripts say:
- Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
- The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
- Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."
Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.