U.S. Capitol Police detained a group of peaceful protesters on Wednesday, including several people in wheelchairs, during a protest over proposed cuts to Medicaid spending.
Scripps News footage shows a crowd of people, some of them in wheelchairs, being zip-tied and escorted out of the Russell Senate Rotunda. The room is part of a Senate office building on Capitol Hill.
Protesters shouted slogans, among them "No cuts to Medicaid."
Other protesters briefly unfurled a banner reading "DON'T KILL US" in one of the building's staircases before Capitol police confiscated and removed it.
Many of the protesters were in black shirts with slogans, including one that read "HEALTHCARE CUTS WILL KILL." The shirts also bore the logo of grassroots group Popular Democracy.
Scripps News has reached out to the group for comment.
The protests are over proposed Medicaid cuts included in the "Big Beautiful Bill," which would remove coverage for some 10 million of the poorest Americans over the next decade as well as implement additional work requirements for those using Medicaid.
U.S. Capitol Police told Scripps News 34 people were arrested during the demonstrations, including one person who was arrested outside the building.
"The group was arrested for 22-1307 - Crowding, Obstructing, and Incommoding. Another person was arrested for crossing a police line outside where we are processing the arrests," the agency's statement read in part.
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The protests come as President Donald Trump continues to pressure lawmakers to pass the full budget bill no later than July 4. The first votes on the bill could come as early as Thursday or Friday of this week.
