Mayor Vincent Gray, D.C. councilmembers arrested

The mayor of the District of Columbia on Monday decided to take a stand against his federal counterparts by taking a seat on Constitution Avenue.

Vince Gray, dressed in a dark suit and red tie, plopped down on the busy Capitol Hill street early yesterday evening, refusing to budge until U.S. Capitol Police bound his hands behind his back and took him into custody.

The District's mayor was joined by D.C. councilmembers Kwame Brown, Muriel Bowser, Michael Brown, Sekou Biddle, Yvette Alexander, and Tommy Wells for the protest outside Senate offices. The event, promoted by the group DC Vote, was designed to draw attention to riders attached to the budget compromise, which some District leaders saw as the federal government meddling in local affairs.

In total, 41 people were arrested, charged with unlawful assembly for blocking passage, according to U.S. Capitol Police. They spent hours being processed at two different facilities and had not yet been released by 11:30 p.m. Monday.

Here's what happened during the protest, in tweet, video and picture form.

At approximately 5 p.m. ...

A few dozen D.C. statehood activists start marching. At first, it really doesn't look like it's going to turn into something all that impressive. After all, they only walk to the corner of the street and back. At first, it looks as if it might be just a smaller protest.

few minutes later ...

D.C. Mayor Vince Gray shows up. He does a quick press briefing before joining in the protest. Sorry about the quality of this video.

The protest gets started.

The protest moves to the sidewalk outside Senate offices.

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http://www.tbd.com/articles/2011/04/mayor-vincent-gray-d-c-c ouncilmembers-arrested-photos-video--58370.html

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