Thanks to the tireless work of voting rights activists like Stacey Abrams, the state of Georgia went blue in the 2020 presidential election, and in January of this year, it delivered two key Senate victories, giving Democrats a razor thin majority in the body.
Despite former President Donald Trump's pressure on state legislatures and on local officials in Georgia, the state submitted its electoral votes, officially going blue for the first time since 1992.
Determined not to see the state go blue again, Republicans in Georgia are scrambling to suppress the votes of as many people as possible, especially in communities of color.
And on Thursday afternoon, Georgia's Republican legislature passed a broad measure to limit voting by mail, limits ballot drop boxes, expands the power of the state legislature over elections, forbids bringing food or water to voters in long lines, and other twisted limitations on the people's votes.
Hours later, Georgia's Republican Governor Brian Kemp—who himself relied on voter suppression to win his last gubernatorial race—signed the bill into law.
But as Kemp was signing it, State Representative Park Cannon knocked on his door to voice her opposition—only to be arrested by Georgia police.
Watch below.
GA state troopers ARRESTED State Rep. Park Cannon for knocking on @GovKemp’s door as he signed a huge voter suppres… https://t.co/F654cSktbX— Ben Crump (@Ben Crump) 1616725561.0
After Cannon gently but insistently knocked, the police grabbed her by the arms and dragged her to their vehicle. Because Georgia law prohibits legislators from being arrested during a session except for treason or felony, Cannon was reportedly charged with two felonies.
She later gave an update on the incident.
Hey everyone, thank you for your support. I’ve been released from jail. I am not the first Georgian to be arrested… https://t.co/MMy1hDTmJu— Representative Park Cannon (@Representative Park Cannon) 1616732890.0
The arrest of a state legislator for seeking a word with her state's governor reverberated outrage across the country.
I stand with Georgia State Rep. Park Cannon (@Cannonfor58), who was arrested and CHARGED WITH A FELONY for ... for… https://t.co/O7H2yEMPhK— Jon Ossoff (@Jon Ossoff) 1616723281.0
Arresting a sitting member of a legislative body, while in session for knocking on the door of the Governor is wild… https://t.co/KKmVKPevL0— Ilhan Omar (@Ilhan Omar) 1616730664.0
How is knocking on a door illegal? Every American should watch this video today. Two cops arresting an elected bla… https://t.co/fGKbOD2VOz— Mehdi Hasan (@Mehdi Hasan) 1616765004.0
This is vile. It's un-American. It's also what Republicans dream of. https://t.co/17mKLSGuzu— Rep. Omari Hardy (@Rep. Omari Hardy) 1616722364.0
The governor was signing legislation. He was in there with a half dozen other white men. There is an official photo… https://t.co/UNTeE4DQYW— Eliza Orlins (@Eliza Orlins) 1616727881.0
If you want to understand how white Supremacy works, 135 white people just rigged an election in broad daylight an… https://t.co/mRqFdQVkMq— Michael Harriot (@Michael Harriot) 1616717902.0
Opposition is building against Georgia's voter suppression law.
We’ll be passing out homemade baked goods in 2022 along with water. See you in Georgia. https://t.co/q1TOkGOUGB— Joyce Alene (@Joyce Alene) 1616765489.0
Hard to see why any responsible corporation would make the decision now to do business in Georgia. Hard to see any… https://t.co/lzJnST6kFg— Joe Lockhart (@Joe Lockhart) 1616764085.0
Georgia Republicans are banning passing out water bottles in voting lines before they ban possession of AR-15s. Th… https://t.co/Ywl5ZO7tn8— Jamaal Bowman (@Jamaal Bowman) 1616767579.0
The Senate is currently considering the For The People Act, a massive voting rights bill passed by the House, which would limit the ability of states to suppress their voters. Georgia's law has demonstrated the necessity of this bill, but it will take a bypass of the 60 vote threshold imposed by the filibuster to have a chance of passing.