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Protesters disrupt US Supreme Court session over unlimited election spending

Activists with the group 99Rise at the US Supreme Court, Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2015.

A group of protesters disrupted the opening session of the US Supreme Court on Wednesday, demanding the reversal of a ruling that lifted limits on corporate spending in US elections.

Eight demonstrators from the 99Rise activist group were arrested and removed from the court building after they began shouting "One person one vote" and "We are the 99 percent," a reference to the majority of Americans as opposed to the wealthiest one percent.

The protesters “stood up in the tradition of nonviolent dissent to speak out against corruption and to defend our democracy on the fifth anniversary of Citizens United,” 99Rise leader Kai Newkirk said.

The protest began shortly after 10 a.m. when one activist stood up near the back of the courtroom and yelled "money is not speech" as Chief Justice John Roberts prepared to begin a court session.

The 5-4 Citizens United decision by the US Supreme Court in January 2010 freed corporations and labor unions to spend as much as they want on presidential and congressional elections.

The decision helped open the floodgates of corporate spending in elections, rendering the average American voter almost voiceless and further boosting the influence of the rich in the electoral process.

Hours after the protest, President Barack Obama issued a statement and condemned the Supreme Court ruling, known as Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission.

He said that "dark money" was flooding electoral campaigns and “has caused real harm to our democracy.”

AHT/AGB


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