John Lewis arrested at Darfur protest

U.S. Rep. John Lewis of Atlanta and four other members of Congress were arrested for civil disobedience on Monday as part of a protest against the humanitarian policies of the government of Darfur in Africa.

Lewis and the others were arrested after crossing a police line and refusing to leave the area in front of the Sudanese Embassy in Washington during the well-organized event that was as much publicity stunt as protest. The Democrat was released a few hours after his arrest after paying a $100 fine.

AP

Rep. John Lewis is arrested during a Washington protest at the Sudanese Embassy against the actions of the Sudanese government in Darfur.

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“It is important to send a message not only to the people in this country and our own government, but to the people of the world that the genocide in Darfur must end,” Lewis said outside a Metropolitan Police Department precinct after his arrest. “What is going on there are crimes against humanity.”

Others arrested late Monday morning in the demonstration staged by the Save Darfur Coalition were Reps. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.), Donna Edwards (D-Md.), Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) and Lynn Woolsey (D-Calif.).

In a statement delivered before his arrest, Lewis blamed the government of the Darfur region of the African country of Sudan for the deaths of almost 500,000 people.