Rev. Jesse Jackson among 39 arrested during sit-in protest at Sinema's Phoenix office

More than 30 people, including Revs. Jesse Jackson and Dr. William J. Barber II, were arrested outside of the Phoenix office of Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., during a sit-in demonstration.

On Monday, the Poor People's Campaign led various rallies nationwide, in at least 27 states including Arizona, in an effort to stop the filibuster and "take the fight for democracy to the home offices of U.S. Senators."

Rev. Jesse Jackson, the Rev. Dr. William Barber II, and Transformative Justice Coalition President Barbara Arnwine rallied in Phoenix and led a march to and a sit-in at the office of Sen. Kyrsten Sinema. The rally began at 9 a.m., and at least dozens of people attended. 

Around 10:15 a.m., the crowd began walking toward Sinema's office.

According to a tweet from Stephen Roach Knight, assistant to Barber, over 30 people were arrested during the sit-in, including Knight, Arnwine and Revs. Barber and Jackson.

Belén Sisa, Arizona campaign manager for Democracy Initiative, confirmed that Phoenix police arrested Revs. Barber and Jackson, state Sen. Martin Quezada, local faith leaders and other attendees.

"On Monday, over 30 people were arrested at Senator Sinema’s office while participating in nonviolent sit-in to demand that she end the filibuster, pass voting and workers’ rights legislation and raise the federal minimum wage to $15/an hour," Sisa said in a statement.

The group was cited and released, Sisa said. According to the tweet from Knight, they were arrested on suspicion of criminal trespassing, which is the least serious tier of misdemeanor.

Jackson said at the scene that he was arrested for his act of civil disobedience but was then processed and released on-site without being booked into jail.

Phoenix police confirm arrests 

At around 10:45 a.m., Phoenix police restricted Camelback Road between 32nd and 40th streets due to the march, according to a tweet.

According to Sgt. Mercedes Fortune, spokesperson for the Phoenix Police Department, at around 11 a.m., the property manager of the building requested the demonstrators leave the location and "the group ignored the property manager." 

"The group was then given verbal warnings to leave the property by Phoenix Police officers, which were also ignored," Fortune said in a statement. "The group continued to refuse to leave and were interfering with normal business operations. Officers made announcements over loudspeaker asking the group to leave the premises." 

At approximately 11:45 a.m., 39 adults were arrested, Fortune said. 

"All arrestees received citations in-lieu-of detention and have been released from police custody," she said. Police did not name those arrested since they were not booked into jail, Fortune said. 

Last month, activists also held a sit-in protest at Sinema's north-central Phoenix office and 10 people received citations for trespassing in lieu of detention.

Speakers called to end filibuster, expand voting rights and raise federal minimum wage

The rally held at Kachina Park was organized to call for an end to the filibuster, for the passage of voting rights and workers' rights legislation, and to raise the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour.

Barber and the other speakers at the event voiced their concerns about Sinema's decisions to not vote against the filibuster or to not vote to raise the federal minimum wage.

“Arizona, you have a senator who is standing in the way of justice,” said Arnwine. “We need Senator Sinema to stand up for the people of America and do the right thing. She cannot be walking around talking about bipartisanship - Sinema, if you can't show us 10 Republican votes on voting rights bills, then you need to vote the right way to end the filibuster.”

During his speech, Barber said the filibuster is "non-constitutional."

"You should not be using a non-constitutional thing to block constitutional rights," he said.

Speakers also called for the passage of the For the People Act. Sinema and Sen. Mark Kelly voted in June to advance their party’s sweeping elections and ethics bill that would dramatically change the way Americans vote, but could not overcome a Republican filibuster. 

"Today's filibuster is a coward's filibuster," said Barber, adding that what is included in the act is same-day and online voting registration, granting formerly incarcerated people the right to vote, and establishing early voting in federal elections.

"If you're against the For the People's act or you're hiding behind a filibuster, this is what you are blocking."

Filibuster split, Sinema jettisoning Sinema spokesperson:  'The filibuster helps protect the country'

Sinema, D-Ariz., has won praise from Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and other GOP senators for her unflinching stance against ending the filibuster, which needs to clear a 60-vote hurdle in the evenly divided 100-member Senate.

For the first time, Sinema’s party controls both the House of Representatives and the Senate and the White House. The Democrats’ narrow margins in the House of Representatives and the Senate have given her support for keeping the legislative filibuster.

A spokesperson from Sen. Sinema's office sent the following response to The Arizona Republic about the rally and sit-in.

"Kyrsten has asked those who want to eliminate the legislative filibuster to pass the For the People Act (voting-rights legislation she supports and has co-sponsored): would it be good for our country if we did, only to see that legislation rescinded a few years from now and replaced by a nationwide voter-ID law or restrictions on voting by mail in federal elections, over the objections of the Senate minority?" Sinema spokesperson John LaBombard said in an email. "That is one example of how the filibuster helps protect the country from wild swings between opposing policy poles."

Republic reporter Yvonne Wingett Sanchez contributed to this story.

Reach breaking news reporter Olivia Munson at olivia.munson@arizonarepublic.com or on Twitter @munson_olivia.

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