Members of the left-wing group LUCHA Arizona that followed Democratic Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema into a bathroom became the latest activists to violate the personal space of a political figure whose views they dislike.
The activists harassed Sinema on Sunday at Arizona State University over her lack of support for President Joe Biden’s Build Back Better reconciliation package and called on her to support immigration reform. Sinema opposes the $3.5 trillion top line price tag for the reconciliation bill, as well as a prescription drug price control mechanism that left-wing Democrats in the House have said is necessary for their support.
“We knocked on doors for you to get you elected, and just how we got you elected, we can get you out of office if you don’t support what you promised us,” one activist said.
🔴BREAKING: Blanca, an AZ immigrant youth confronts @SenatorSinema inside her classroom, where she teaches @ ASU. “in 2010 both my grandparents got deported bc of SB1070…my grandfather passed away 2 wks ago & I wasn’t able to go to Mexico bc there is no pathway to citizenship.” pic.twitter.com/JDZYY2fOD2
— LUCHA Arizona (@LUCHA_AZ) October 3, 2021
In response, Sinema accused LUCHA of “engaging in unlawful activities,” and derided their behavior as “not legitimate protest.”
Sinema’s fellow moderate Democratic senator, Joe Manchin of West Virginia, was also confronted over his criticisms of the Build Back Better package. Manchin has said that he will not support more than $1.5 trillion in new spending, and will not sign onto legislation that does not prohibit federal funding of abortion.
Kayakers affiliated with the Center for Popular Democracy Action paddled up to Manchin’s houseboat, docked in the Potomac, demanding that he meet with them.
“Senator, this is an investment. This is not giving out money. This is not spending! This is investing and this is building the state that we both love,” one individual yelled through a bullhorn.
“Some of the neighbors are complaining. That’s all I’m saying. If you want to talk, I’m happy to talk. And, don’t harass the neighbors. Be nice. Let’s talk about it,” Manchin responded, inviting the kayakers to his office.
🚨BREAKING: Tonight, @Sen_JoeManchin emerged from his yacht for some real talk with the West Virginians who’ve been kayaking to his DC yacht every day this week!
And he invited them to come in for a meeting tomorrow/Monday latest!#DontSinkWV
— CPD Action (@CPDAction) October 1, 2021
Sinema and Manchin are the latest government figures to find themselves in the cross hairs of left-wing activists willing to confront them away from their offices. Pro-abortion groups protested outside the house of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, a frequent target of left-wing activists, after the Supreme Court declined on procedural grounds to overturn a Texas law limiting abortion after a fetal heartbeat is detected.
During Kavanaugh’s confirmation hearings, Republican Sens. Ted Cruz of Texas and Susan Collins of Maine were confronted outside the Capitol over their support for the nominee. Cruz and his wife were chased out of a Washington, D.C. restaurant. Collins received extra Capitol Police protection after a man waited outside her house until late into the night. She was also targeted with multiple threatening phone calls. (RELATED: Members Of Susan Collins’ Alma Mater Are Fighting To Have Her Honorary Degree Retracted Over Kavanaugh Vote)
Left-wing protesters also confronted Republican Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley’s wife outside the couple’s Northern Virginia home ahead of his vote not to certify the 2020 presidential election. Police later dispersed the protesters, who violated noise ordinances.
Activist harassment is often approved by top Democrats, thus encouraging the behavior. Democratic California Rep. Maxine Waters called on activists in 2018 to “create a crowd” and “push back on” members of then-President Donald Trump’s cabinet when they are seen “in a restaurant, in department store, at a gasoline station.” Waters’ comments served as an endorsement of the harassment of then-press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders and then-Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen, both of whom were forced to leave restaurants due to hecklers.
Democratic New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez invited a woman, Ana Maria Archila, who chased Republican Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake into a Capitol elevator during the Kavanaugh confirmation hearings to the 2019 State of the Union address. Ocasio-Cortez described Archila as “chang[ing] the [world].”
President Joe Biden claimed that the harassment of Sinema and Manchin was “part of the process,” although he allowed that the “tactics” were not “appropriate.”