Civil-rights icon John Lewis, who was beaten unconscious by racist Southern cops in 1960s civil-rights marches, was heckled at the U.S. Capitol when he appealed for calm from protesters marching against police shootings.
Mr. Lewis, now a Democratic U.S. Congressman from Georgia, told marchers who’d arrived at the Capitol in a spontaneous, permitless march from the White House that “we stand with you.”
“What happened in Louisiana, in Minnesota was a shame and a disgrace and it must never happen again,” he said around 9:25 p.m., according to live CNN footage.
He reminded the audience, which was being kept off the Capitol steps, that “I went to jail 40 times in the 60s, but I never gave in,” admonishing the protesters to do the same.
But when he told them they “gotta be peaceful,” at least one of the protesters began shrieking at him, CNN footage showed.
It wasn’t clear what she was saying from the CNN footage, but Mr. Lewis was effectively shouted down.
Another man took the bullhorn from Mr. Lewis and admonished the crowd, reminding them who Mr. Lewis was and calling him their friend and ally.
According to the Twitter feed of one marcher, someone in the crowd yelled “do your job!” while others said “”we didn’t come here for a photo op we came for Justice.”
• Victor Morton can be reached at vmorton@washingtontimes.com.
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