D.C. Mayor Vince Gray arrested on Capitol Hill Protesting Congressional Budget

From [HERE] Washington Mayor Vincent Gray and other top city officials were arrested on Capitol Hill on Monday during a protest of the budget deal House Republicans cut with President Barack Obama.

A crowd of about 200 to 300 gathered near the Hart Senate Office Building in opposition to a budget bill passed last week because it places new limits on the city. One measure prevents Washington from spending government funds, even local money, on abortion services.

Capitol Police say they arrested 41 protesters for unlawful assembly, for “blocking passage” on Constitution Avenue near the Capitol.

Capitol Police officers also arrested City Council Member Muriel Browser and City Council Chairman Kwame R. Brown. Other city officials who were arrested included Council members Yvette Alexander, Tommy Wells, Michael Brown and Sekou Biddle. A Capitol Police spokesman said the department is monitoring the situation.

Protestors chanted “Free D.C.” and “We can’t take it no more.”

Tensions have long run high between D.C. officials and congressional Republicans for years. The GOP has largely opposed the District’s effort to gain a full-voting member in the House. The district’s member of Congress, currently Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton, a Democrat, can vote only in committee.

The Republican-sponsored abortion provision in the 2011 spending bill has won some Democratic congressional support in the past, and Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) worked feverishly to secure its inclusion this year.

The budget also includes a provision that allocates money for vouchers for low-income students to attend private schools, a project spearheaded by Boehner. Gray opposes the measure.

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