Police arrested nearly 60 protesters, many of them clergy members, Monday at a rally in North Carolina’s Republican-led General Assembly, the Charlotte Observer reported.
The rally in Raleigh was the latest in a string of “Moral Monday” demonstrations held since April to protest the state GOP’s cuts to Medicaid and policies on voter ID and women’s rights, among other issues.
Religious leaders led the rally, according to the Observer. One of the newspaper’s own reporters was also detained while interviewing demonstrators.
“Many of us have previously attempted to reach out to Assembly leaders for dialogue, and we have been ignored,” seven local rabbis said in a written statement, as quoted by the Observer. “We therefore endorse the use of nonviolent civil disobedience to draw attention to the reckless and heartless policies currently passing into law in Raleigh. … We recognize the need for solidarity at this time in North Carolina.”
