The Virginia Capitol Police and Virginia State Police deployed massive forces against peaceful demonstrators protesting against the Republican War on Women today. Basically the entire Capitol Police force was there backed up by dozens of State Police, including a platoon of riot police in full riot gear and a half squad of SWAT openly carrying automatic weapons and teargas guns.
A group of about thirty or forty peaceful protesters on the stairs of the Capitol were cut off when the riot police shoved the rest of the demonstrators back. The cordoned off protesters were then arrested and dragged away. Riot police literally trampled on the Great Seal of Virginia's motto "Sic Semper Tyrannis" as they forced peaceful protesters off the plaza in front of the Capitol Thomas Jefferson designed as a temple to Democracy.
This is a short video I'm putting out to show what happened today. I have a lot more footage I have to watch and edit together before I can post it. What I saw today was both powerful and appalling. The sacrifice of the protesters who chose civil disobedience was inspiring. The overreaction by the police was appalling and really shows the extent to which the GOP is willing to use police power to suppress peaceful dissent.
This is Bob McDonnell's Virginia.
I apologize for the short diary, I just wanted to get this story out there.