US Representative Donna Edwards (D-Md District 4) was arrested outside the Sudanese embassy in The District Monday, the Associated Press reported.
The second-semester freshman lawmaker was busted for crossing a police line during a protest against Sudan’s expulsion of aid workers from the Darfur region. She and seven other people, including a couple of Congressional reps, were led away in cuffs, the AP wrote.
It’s unclear what charge (if any) will be brought on Edwards, or whether she remains in police custody.
The protest, along Massachusettes Avenue in Dupont Circle, tore into the Sudanese president’s decision to give 16 aid agencies the boot from Darfur, the AP reported. Up to 300,000 people have died in Darfur, where ethnic African rebels have been fighting the Arab-dominated government for six years, according to the United Nations.
Edwards was appointed the Congressional seat in June 2008 after her predecessor, Albert Wynn, left the gig for a private position. She was later elected to office in November’s general election. Edwards’ district includes parts of downtown Silver Spring, as well as other stretches of Montgomery and Prince George’s counties.
Last week, Edwards and her staff celebrated the opening of her downtown Silver Spring office, on Georgia Avenue and Fenwick Lane.
Photo courtesy of Flickr user matthewnstoller.
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Wow. Would Al Wynn have taken a stand?
Instead of getting arrested while protesting, she could push the issue on Capitol Hill. Anyone can protest, Congresspeople can do more.
Not every district has such an activist representative. Pretty cool.
No it isn’t cool. She’s a congressperson. She can do more. I didn’t vote for her so she could participate in useless acts of public theater. I voted for her so she could actually do something that would make a difference in the world.
I think what Donna Edwards did was magnificent. It helped ensure that the genocide in Darfur would continue to make the news, even if our nation as a whole is willing to ignore the mass slaughter of brown people overseas. At least we won’t be able to claim that we didn’t know.