Abortion protesters gather outside Arizona state capitol building, attempt to gain entry

A group of protesters reportedly attempted to enter the Arizona State Capitol building on Friday night while lawmakers were inside working.

According to several lawmakers who were present inside the building at the time of the incident, protesters who had gathered outside the Capitol in response to the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v Wade, attempted to enter the building by banging on windows and possibly breaking some on Friday night. Law enforcement was able to handle the crowd and there were no injuries.

A legislator who was in the building when the protesters allegedly tried to come inside, Rep. Justin Wilmeth, said on Twitter, “As I heard it, some either banged on Senate windows or broke them and then DPS launched smoke bombs to disperse the crowds. Pure chaos for a bit.” Wilmeth also posted a photo of palm trees that had been set alight outside the building with the caption, “Palm tree apparently on fire after the “mostly peaceful” protests at the Capitol tonight.”

Democrat lawmaker Rep. Sarah Liuori also Tweeted about the incident as it was happening. “While working inside we were interrupted by the sound of bangs and smell of tear gas,” she wrote. “Protestors cleared from the Capitol.” The protesters began growing in number after several Arizona abortion providers paused services in the state due to the legal change.

“Troopers deployed tear gas after a crowd of protesters repeatedly pounded on the glass doors of the State Senate Building,” Arizona Department of Public Safety spokesperson Bart Graves told CNN. Protesters gathered at the Arizona capitol on Saturday night as well, in a continued demonstration against the SCOTUS decision. Four people were arrested on Friday night but that Saturday night’s protest had remained peaceful.