SACRAMENTO: A woman was arrested after throwing a red liquid in a feminine hygiene device from the California Senate public gallery onto the Senate floor, the California Highway Patrol said.
State senators were had just finished taking a vote when the woman tossed the substance onto the floor of the Senate, saying: “That’s for the dead babies.”
The liquid hit at least six state senators, according to Sen. Steve Glazer, D-Orinda. He said in a tweet that he and five others — Sen. Melissa Hurtado, D-Sanger; Sen. Cathleen Galgiani, D-Stockton; Sen. Nancy Skinner, D-Berkeley; Sen. Holly Mitchell, D-Los Angeles and Sen. Susan Rubio, D-Baldwin Park — were hit. Glazer said the liquid landed on his head.
“I’m going to take a shower,” he told reporters crowded in the hallway outside the Senate chambers. “We have work to do.”
CHP quickly cleared the Senate chambers after the incident. The woman walked out of the gallery and was arrested in the hallway by CHP officers. She was arrested on charges related to assault, vandalism, disrupting State Capitol business, obstructing the use of state property, preventing the legislature from meeting and disrupting a legislative session.
In a statement, CHP said the liquid “appeared to be blood.” Investigators are still testing the substance.
Glazer tweeted a photo after the incident showing that the red liquid was thrown from what appeared to be a menstrual cup. The tweet has since been deleted.
Several lawmakers said the person who threw the liquid was protesting mandatory vaccinations. An anti-vaccination group condemned the woman’s actions.
“It’s deplorable,” said Sandy Olson, from Central Valley Advocates for Parental Rights. “It’s disgusting. Nobody here would condone that. All of our activities here this week have been peaceful, even the parents that were arrested earlier this week. It was very peaceful. We were trying to get the attention of the governor.”
The incident happened after dozens of protesters have filled the Capitol to demonstrate against a bill that seeks to curb the fraudulent issuance of medical exemptions for vaccinations. Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the bill into law earlier this week.
(Agencies)
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