Naked AIDS protesters arrested in Boehner's congressional office

Nov 29 2012

Seven people took their clothes off in a House office building Tuesday to protest cuts to AIDS funding, and three women were arrested. The group was joined by dozens of other -- clothed -- protesters.

Los Angeles Times: AIDS Activists Stage Naked Protest On Capitol Hill
Seven protesters disrobed in the office of House Speaker John Boehner Tuesday afternoon as part of a staged protest against cuts to funding for AIDS programs. Their bodies painted with slogans such as "AIDS cuts kill," the group stood in Boehner's office for about 20 minutes until the protest was broken up by Capitol Police, according to Sahil Kapur, a reporter for Talking Points Memo, who witnessed the protest and posted a continuous stream of tweets and photos (Geiger, 11/27).

The Associated Press/Washington Post: AIDS Activists Arrested After Disrobing In House Speaker Boehner's Office Lobby
Three women AIDS activists saying they wanted to highlight the "naked truth" about potential spending cuts in HIV programs were arrested Tuesday after taking their clothes off in the lobby of House Speaker John Boehner's office. The trio had the words "AIDS cuts kill" painted on their bodies and had linked arms with four men who also disrobed as part of the protest. The nude protesters, along with dozens of other clothed demonstrators chanted slogans, including: "People with AIDS are under attack. What do we do? Fight back" (11/27).

The Hill: Protesters Strip Down In Boehner's Office
Multiple protesters stripped naked in Speaker John Boehner's (R-Ohio) office on Tuesday afternoon to protest possible cuts to AIDS research. The protest occurred in Boehner's office in the Longworth House Office Building, not the Speaker's office where he works in the Capitol. Boehner's office confirmed that he was not in the office at the time. A spokesman for the U.S. Capitol Police said that three protesters were arrested, all female. They are charged with lewd and indecent acts based on D.C.'s disorderly conduct code (Cohn, 11/27).

In other news, Sen. John McCain is coming under fire for comments on abortion, and the Senate Finance Committee readies for an HHS confirmation hearing.

The Hill: Anti-Abortion-Rights Groups Slam McCain
Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) is drawing sharp rebuke on the right for saying that Republicans should "leave the [abortion] issue alone." The Susan B. Anthony (SBA) List and Personhood USA, both groups that oppose abortion rights, attacked McCain after he spoke about the issue on "Fox News Sunday." "As far as young women are concerned, absolutely, I don't think anybody like me -; I can state my position on abortion, but, other than that, leave the issue alone," McCain said. On Tuesday, the SBA List called on McCain to rethink his comment in light of his stated opposition to abortion rights (Viebeck, 11/27).

Politico: Finance Preparing For Hearing On Schultz For HHS Post
The Senate Finance Committee is preparing to hold a confirmation hearing before the end of the year for the general counsel of the Department of Health and Human Services, sources on Capitol Hill and K Street tell Politico. William B. Schultz was nominated to the post in April. Schultz's nomination hearing is likely to move as part of a pack of Obama nominees that has sat largely idle in the Senate since well before the election. Senate Republicans and Democrats are negotiating on how to move a set of nominees ahead. Schultz's papers and taxes were vetted by Republican and Democratic committee staffers before Thanksgiving in anticipation of a solo hearing or joint hearing with other Finance nominees, sources tell Politico (Haberkorn, 11/27).