Nearly 200 people arrested during protest against Kavanaugh’s confirmation

Nearly 200 protesters were arrested on the steps of Capitol Hill after the US Senate confirmed Brett Kavanaugh as a Supreme Court justice despite allegations of sexual assault against him.

The demonstrations on Saturday were the latest in a series of protests against Kavanaugh at the Capitol and across the United States.

The protesters carried signs that read “Cancel Kavanaugh” and chanted “We believe survivors.”

“The Supreme Court should be the most fit people in the land, the most fit lawyers, the best, the brightest, not people who hide their financial dealings, not people who lie under oath, and certainly not people who assault women and then lie about it and try to cover it up. I’m here for that, I’m here for the truth,” said one of the protesters.

President Donald Trump, who stood by his nominee amid the allegations and later mocked his accusers, said in a tweet that the “crowd in front of the U.S. Supreme Court is tiny” and the ”Fake News Media tries to make it look sooo big, & it’s not!”

As Kavanaugh arrived at the Supreme Court to be sworn in Saturday evening, protesters moved to flood the steps of the court in opposition.

Police made a number of arrests there and removed the protesters.

Kavanaugh, 53, was accused by California research psychologist Christina Blasey Ford of sexual assault in high school. The accusation, which Kavanaugh adamantly rejected under oath, nearly derailed his confirmation in the Senate.

Kavanaugh was confirmed by a very narrow margin of 50 to 48, putting an end to a bitter battle that has further divided the country along partisan lines.

“I’m just very frustrated. I do not want to see Kavanaugh on that Supreme Court,” said Jackie Knightshade of Washington. “I do believe he has lied.”

Demonstrations were held elsewhere in the country. Around 100 people gathered in Washington Square Park in New York, holding signs reading “believe women” and “punish perjury.”

In Denver, hundreds of people converged in front of the office of Senator Cory Gardner of Colorado to “make sure he knows we will be holding him accountable in 2020.”

A protest was also held against Kavanaugh’s confirmation in Cleveland, Ohio,

Both sides are using the Kavanaugh affair as a rally cry for the upcoming midterm elections. Some Republicans warn that Democratic wins would lead to impeachment proceedings against the judge.