Anti-Kavanaugh protestors confront GOP senator at airport

Two sexual assault survivors and an Arizona state representative on Monday confronted GOP Sen. David Perdue (Ga.) at a Washington, D.C., airport over the sexual misconduct allegations against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. 

The women pressed Perdue over his “yes” vote on Kavanaugh as they followed him through Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, sharing their personal experiences with the Georgia senator and his wife, who both largely ignored them, according to a video of the incident.

The confrontation is the latest in a string of similar interactions organized by liberal activists associated with the Center for Popular Democracy (CPD), an advocacy organization that opposes Kavanaugh’s nomination. 

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) were also both confronted by women who identified themselves as survivors of sexual assault associated with the CPD at the airport on Monday.

{mosads}Perdue, who is in his term in the Senate, ultimately disappeared into the men’s bathroom as the women continued to shout after him. 

“This is a legacy and a moment in history that will not be forgotten,” one woman yelled after him. 

The Cut identified the two sexual assault survivors as Patti Serrano and Jennifer Epps-Addison, who are both affiliated with the advocacy group Center for Popular Democracy. 

The other woman in the video introduces herself as Arizona state Rep. Isela Blanc (D). Blanc, a vocal activist, was arrested over the summer for protesting President Trump’s “zero tolerance” immigration policy. 

Blanc’s office did not immediately respond to The Hill’s request for comment.

Blanc in the video walked in front of Perdue, holding out her hand to him as she introduced herself.

“Excuse me,” he said, backing away from her. “If I’m touched another time…”

“I haven’t touched you, sir,” Blanc replies. “We’re asking you to stand up for justice.”

“How can you not talk to women who have been assaulted?” another woman asks as Perdue breaks away to enter the men’s restroom. “How can you ignore our pleas?” 

McConnell was also confronted by multiple women who called on him to respond to their complaints.

 

“Senator McConnell, do you always turn your back on women like this?” a woman asked McConnell as he walked out of the airport. 

“Senator McConnell, why do women have to bare their whole soul to you?” another woman asked.

The CPD also helped organize an emotional demonstration for Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) last week, during which sexual assault survivors blocked elevator doors in the Capitol as they pleaded with Flake to hear their voices. 

McConnell, Corker and Perdue have largely stood behind Kavanaugh in the face of accusations of sexual misconduct from three women. McConnell on Tuesday vowed that the Senate will vote on Kavanaugh “this week,” after the one-week FBI investigation into the allegations is complete. 

Survivors of sexual assault have mobilized behind the women accusing Kavanaugh, in particular Christine Blasey Ford, who testified last week before the Senate Judiciary Committee about her allegation that Kavanaugh pinned her to a bed and groped her during a high school party in 1982. 

Another woman, Deborah Ramirez, has alleged Kavanaugh exposed himself without her consent and thrust his penis into her face during a Yale University gathering in 1980.

Kavanaugh has vehemently denied the accusations, calling them “false” and a “smear.” 

Hundreds of survivors have flooded the Capitol in the wake of the allegations, sharing their stories of rape and abuse in front of lawmakers’ offices as they urge the Senate to vote “no.”