FRANKFORT, Ky. (LEX 18) — A group of people who were arrested after disrupting a Kentucky House vote have been released from jail.
As of 11 p.m. Wednesday, only one person remained detained, according to Chris Hartman, the director of the Fairness Campaign. By 1 a.m. Thursday, they'd been released as well, according to the ACLU of Kentucky.
In total, 19 people were charged with Criminal Trespassing in the 3rd Degree, Hartman said.
Protesters chants included "trans rights are human rights."
They linked arms to make it difficult for police to remove them, leading to dramatic moments as police ripped people away from their seats one by one.
They consider Senate Bill 150 to be an extreme anti-trans bill. Among other things, it bans gender-affirming care for minors. Governor Beshear's veto of the bill was overriden in the House and Senate, which means it will become law.
On Twitter, the ACLU of Kentucky wrote they were at the jail "to ensure all 19 protesters who were arrested for exercising their first amendment rights at the Capitol today are released as soon as possible."
Hartman said people were justified to do what they did, and that it was sad to see people arrested.
"It's shameful, Hartman said. "It's shameful that they would treat our people not just the way they've been treated the entire legislative session but then to take them off and arrest them."
