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Advocates for Poor & Disabled Arrested at Capitol Hill Protest Against Social Spending Cuts

HeadlineJun 03, 2025

On Monday, the Rev. William Barber and other activists were arrested in the Capitol Rotunda as they held a prayer demonstration against the budget. Rev. Barber and his group Repairers of the Breach also held a rally outside the Capitol to condemn the spending cuts, which threaten to strip Medicaid coverage from 14 million people. This is disability rights activist Sloan Meek.

Sloan Meek: “The way I moved around in the world, the way I communicate, the people who help me do all the things I want for my life, it is all supported by Medicaid. Proposing to cut Medicaid is a death threat to me and my friends with disabilities. Without Medicaid supporting my home and my community, I will be forced into a nursing home to spend the rest of my life in a hospital bed until I die.”

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