Upset over private donations, Liberal protestors barged in on the Supreme Court

As the Supreme Court opened on January 21, a rare disturbance broke out which caused seven protesters to be removed.

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - Chief Justice John Roberts was about to announce the day's opinions when a protester stood up and began shouted: "We are the 99%!"

Get a Catholic email address for yourself, or give one as a gift. Safe, secure, and encrypted.

Chief Justice Roberts tried to play off the interruption with a joke that the court's "second order of business today is ..." before another protester started shouting. Following that disturbance seven protesters were escorted from the chamber.

A group that calls itself 99rise has taken credit for this disruption. They call themselves a grassroots organization attempting to get money taken out of American politics, and issued a press releasing following the incident.

"We have seen the consequences of the free flow of private money rushing into our public political system," it said.

The group is dissatisfied with the Court's 2010 case, Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, which caused limits to be placed on independent campaign contributions made by corporations and unions.

"We will now continue with our tradition of having open court in the Supreme Court building," said Roberts.

The Supreme Court's public information officer, Kathleen Arberg, released a statement which said eight individuals had been involved, but only seven were charged with making "a harangue or oration, or uttering loud, threatening or abusive language in the Supreme Court." The eight member was charged with "conspiracy-related offenses".

It's easy to take care your mind and body, but how are you dealing with your spiritual needs?

It is quite a coincidence that a day later President Obama released a statement that also criticized the 2010 decision.

"With each new campaign season," his statement said, "dark money floods our airwaves with more and more political ads that pull our politics into the gutter."

---

'Help Give every Student and Teacher FREE resources for a world-class Moral Catholic Education'