Unemployed protesters stage sit-ins in dozens of lawmaker offices - The Hill's On The Money

Unemployed protesters stage sit-ins in dozens of lawmaker offices - The Hill's On The Money

Nearly 3,000 protesters are staging sit-ins in congressional offices at the Capitol on Tuesday, demanding they be heard on the plight of the unemployed. The protests, organized by activist groups including OurDC and Moveon.org, will target 99 lawmakers’ offices by the end of the day, according to event spokesman Mike Uehlein... Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) reportedly closed his office to the protesters Tuesday, according to a witness. A sign was hung on the door saying the congressman would only meet with people who had an appointment. As of Tuesday afternoon, the protesters had already visited nearly 20 lawmaker’ offices, including those of Sens. Scott Brown (R-Mass.), Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas) and Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.), as well as Reps. Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas), Steny Hoyer (R-Md.) and Darrell Issa (R-Calif.). When asked if more protesters were willing to be arrested for their cause, Uehlein said, “We just hope it doesn’t come down to that.”