White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki is “deeply concerned” by the arrest of Georgia state Rep. Park Cannon (D) for protesting the state’s voting reform bill.
While Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) was signing an elections bill passed by both houses of the state’s legislature, Cannon “refused to stop knocking on the door” to the room he was holding a press conference in, according to the Georgia State Patrol.
“Rep. Cannon was placed under arrest and escorted out of the Capitol,” the state’s patrol said in a statement. She was charged with disrupting General Assembly sessions or other meetings of members, obstruction of law enforcement, and a felony punishable by one to five years behind bars.
A reporter asked Psaki if Biden has a reaction to the incident, she replied, “I think anyone who saw that video would have been deeply concerned by the actions that were taken by law enforcement to arrest her when she simply… seemed to be knocking on the door to see if she could watch a bill being signed into law.”
She continued, “The largest concern here, obviously beyond her being treated in the manner she was which is, of course, a great concern, is the law that was put into place… it should not be harder, it should be easier to vote.”
Watch part of her press briefing below:
Psaki's response to Georgia state Rep. Park Cannon being arrested in Georgia's Capitol for protesting new voting restrictions: "Anyone who saw that video would have been deeply concerned by the actions that were taken by law enforcement" https://t.co/uE5ayLOjCJ pic.twitter.com/pacFXRyQyK
— CBS News (@CBSNews) March 26, 2021
The president released a statement Friday calling the law “un-American” and a “blatant attack on the Constitution.”
He explained, “Among the outrageous parts of this new state law, it ends voting hours early so working people can’t cast their vote after their shift is over. It adds rigid restrictions on casting absentee ballots that will effectively deny the right to vote to countless voters.”
Biden also pointed out the bill “makes it a crime to provide water to voters while they wait in line.” He argued Republicans created the lines with their efforts to reduce the number of polling sites across the state and “disproportionally in Black neighborhoods.”
New Biden statement on GOP voter suppression in Georgia:
— Ari Berman (@AriBerman) March 26, 2021
"Instead of celebrating the rights of all Georgians to vote, Republicans in the state instead rushed through an un-American law to deny people the right to vote…This is Jim Crow in the 21st Century. It must end." pic.twitter.com/Hv840MoyXX
“This is Jim Crow in the 21st Century. It must end. We have a moral and Constitutional obligation to act. I once again urge Congress to pass the For the People Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act to make it easier for all eligible Americans access the ballot box and prevent attacks on the sacred right to vote,” Biden continued.