Eleven antiwar protesters were arrested Wednesday after they occupied the office of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) on Capitol Hill to demand the senator support efforts at diplomacy over sending further U.S. aid, such as weapons, to Ukraine.
Capitol Police arrested the 11 people inside the Dirksen Senate Office Building under a D.C. code that prohibits crowding, obstructing or incommoding, a Capitol Police spokesperson said. The code is often cited when arresting protesters during peaceful planned acts of civil disobedience.
The protesters, who were with the antiwar group Code Pink, were advocating for Ukrainian, Russian and U.S. leadership to negotiate an end to the war, the group said in a news release.
“Yes, Bernie should condemn the Russian invasion, but he should also be calling for a negotiated end to this brutal war,” Crystal Zevon, from Barnet, Vt., said in the news release.
Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Washington has pledged more than $46 billion in military, humanitarian and financial assistance to Ukraine.
A spokesperson for Sanders said the senator’s chief of staff, foreign policy adviser and Vermont state director met with Vermonters who were concerned about the war. In a Wednesday letter to the Vermont Peace Anti-War Coalition, Sanders said he shares a “dedication to peace” and “hope for a peaceful resolution as soon as possible.”
“The U.S. should support a just peace in Ukraine, based on the principles of territorial integrity, sovereignty, and international law,” Sanders wrote in the letter.
Imagine a woman getting raped in the bushes and a bystander runs up and instead of helping her suggests they negotiate a more comfortable position.
The only thing desired is for Russia to leave and they have already said they would prefer that be decided on the battle field. Any temporary cessation of hostilities would just be giving them room to breath, re-supply, and mass forces. There literally isn’t anything to negotiate.