Georgia State Troopers arrested Rep. Park Cannon (D) because she knocked on the door of Governor Brian Kemp’s door as he was signing into law an expansive elections bill in the state.
Cannon was charged with obstruction of law enforcement and disrupting General Assembly sessions, according to the Georgia State Patrol and released on bond late Thursday.
Cannon and several protesters outside the governor’s office said that the public had a right to witness the bill signing, which limits drop boxes, requires ID for absentee ballots, and changes early voting hours.
“She was advised that she was disturbing what was going on inside and if she did not stop, she would be placed under arrest,” said GSP spokesman Lt. W. Mark Riley. “Rep. Cannon refused to stop knocking on the door.”
The Georgia Constitution says legislators are “free from arrest during sessions of the General Assembly” except for charges of treason, felonies or breach of the peace.
U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock, who is the senior pastor at Ebenezer Baptist Church, the congregation where Cannon attends, joined her at jail and said, “Today is a very sad day for the state of Georgia. What we have witnessed today is a desperate attempt to lock out and squeeze the people out of their own democracy.”
See source info at AJC.
