Protesters Gather Outside Mitch McConnell’s Kentucky Home After His Statement On Supreme Court Vacancy
Mitch McConnell’s Kentucky home was surrounded by protesters this weekend after the Senate majority leader issued a statement saying he intended to lead the process to fill a Supreme Court vacancy left after the death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, an apparent reversal from his stance in 2016.
As Fox News reported, a group of close to 100 people gathered outside his Louisville home. Some carried signs reading “Ruth Sent Us” and “No Ethics No Shame” in response to McConnell’s apparent change in position from 2016. At that time, he said after the February death of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia that he would not hold hearings on a nominee from President Barack Obama and that the American people should decide in the upcoming election who gets to fill the seat. There were close to 10 months remaining until Election Day at the time of Scalia’s passing. Now, there are only about six weeks until November’s vote, leading opponents to accuse him of hypocrisy.
Many of the protesters gathered outside the Louisville residence called for McConnell to be voted out of office in the upcoming election, where he faces Democratic challenger Amy McGrath.
“Hey-hey, ho-ho, Mitch McConnell has got to go,” some of those at the demonstration chanted.
Protesters have targeted McConnell’s house in the past, including earlier in the year when a number of demonstrators holding a banner reading “No Justice, No Sleep” called for action after the death of Breonna Taylor.
As the Fox News report noted, one demonstrator was arrested this weekend on a charge of disorderly conduct and improper parking, with police saying she parked her car in a pharmacy parking lot without planning to shop at the store. As the car was about to be towed, the woman went into the store and purchased beer, but police proceeded with her arrest anyway, the report noted.
The Inquisitr reported on Friday that McConnell released a statement calling on Donald Trump to pick a nominee for the empty seat. A number of other Senate Republicans have said they plan to confirm a nominee from Trump, though many of them had joined McConnell in 2016 by saying that there should not be any vacancies filled during an election year. Obama’s nomination of Merrick Garland was never put to a vote, and the seat remained open until Trump nominated Neil Gorsuch the following year. The Senate, led by McConnell as majority leader, confirmed him in a vote that included three Democrats voting in favor.
As Fox News reported, it was not clear whether McConnell was in his Kentucky home at the time of the protest.
