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Police fired tear gas from the windows of the Arizona Capitol building to disperse hundreds of people demonstrating outside, as lawmakers briefly huddled in a basement.
The lawmakers were working to complete their 2022 session as thousands of protesters gathered on the Capitol grounds in Phoenix on Friday night, divided into groups condemning and supporting the Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision.
SWAT team members with the Department of Public Safety fired tear gas from the building to disperse the protesters. KPHO-TV reported the officers opened fire when several anti-abortion protesters started banging on glass doors of the building.
Arizona is one of eight states where abortion clinics stopped performing procedures after the decision was released Friday. Arizona will see a 15-week abortion ban take effect 90 days once the legislature finishes for the summer.
It wasn’t immediately known if there were injuries or arrests.
The incident sent Senate lawmakers into the basement of the building for about 20 minutes, said Democratic Sen. Martin Quezada.
With tear gas in the air, a large number of police surround the Arizona Capitol after protesters reached the front of the AZ Senate building after the Supreme Court overturned the landmark Roe v. Wade abortion decision Friday
Riot police surround the Arizona Capitol after protesters reached the front of the Arizona Sentate building
KPHO-TV reported the officers opened fire when several anti-abortion protesters started banging on glass doors of the building
Stinging tear gas wafted through the Capitol afterward, forcing the Senate to move its proceedings to a hearing room instead of the Senate chamber.
Thousands of spirited demonstrators took to the streets Friday in cities nationwide to protest the overturning of Roe v. Wade.
Most carried signs, chanted slogans and listened to speeches.
In New York, at least 25 people have been arrested after demonstrations across the city Friday, according to the New York Post.
Similar arrests were made in Los Angeles, according to KTLA, while protesters in Chicago, Washington and other huge cities also took place,.
In New York, at least 25 people have been arrested after demonstrations across the city Friday
Marchers were also arrested after clashes with police turned violent
People in Washington, Chicago and other cities also marched Friday evening
A pickup truck plowed into pro-choice protesters in Iowa as demonstrations turned violent.
The black vehicle drove through the group of activists in Cedar Rapids despite them screaming at it to stop and hammering the hood and window.
One appeared to get caught in front of it and narrowly avoided being run over before the driver sped off during the shocking exchange on Friday night.
Another had her foot run over and was left howling in pain. And a third was flung to the floor as he drove away, suffering bruises and scrapes.
It comes as tens of thousands descended on streets across the US amid mixed reactions at the Supreme Court tearing up Roe v Wade and handing the rights to abortions back to states after nearly 50 years.
Furious pro-choice demonstrators took to the streets in cities including Washington DC, Phoenix, New York City and Los Angeles as they begged the Biden administration to find a way to overrule the decision.
A group was spotted burning the flag of the United States in the capital while others gathered outside Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas’ home.
In Arizona, cops were forced to fire tear gas at protestors after they appeared to breach the State Senate building in Phoenix, with staff evacuated but no one reported to have been injured.
And at least 25 were arrested in New York City after around 17,000 descended on Washington Square Park before marching through the streets to Grand Central Station, Times Square, and Bryant Park.
They also stopped outside News Corp headquarters – home to Fox News and The New York Post – and yelled ‘Burn it down! Burn it down! F–k Tucker Carlson!’ Vandals also sprayed ‘F*** Fox’ on the side of the building.
Meanwhile pro-life protesters also amassed nationwide, some breaking down in tears as they celebrated the immediate end of abortions in 18 states.
The Supreme Court on Friday struck down the right to abortion in a seismic ruling that shredded five decades of constitutional protections.
The conservative-dominated court overturned the landmark 1973 Roe v Wade decision enshrining a woman’s right to an abortion, saying individual states can restrict or ban the procedure themselves.
The black pickup truck was captured on social media in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on Friday evening shunting the crowd
Two people appeared to be in front of the black pickup as it continued driving through the crowd, despite screams. One of the women, in the white t-shirt and jeans, told DailyMail.com about wrestling with the driver and yelling at him to stop
As two protesters were shunted by the vehicle, the woman, Alexis Russell, screamed through the window for the driver to stop
The driver continued accelerating, despite the protesters all around him and in front
The driver then sped off. Cedar Rapids police say they are investigating
Russell, in the white t-shirt and jeans, can be seen tussling with the driver of the pickup truck
The driver pushed two people along the road at the front of his vehicle, while Russell yelled at him to stop by his window
Russell is seen marching through Cedar Rapids on Friday with her fellow protesters, shortly before the crowd was rammed by the pickup truck
Alexis Russell, 30, saw the man driving his pickup into the crowd, and ran over to urge him to stop. ‘I was standing on a sidewalk facing the road,’ she told DailyMail.com. ‘So as soon as I saw it I didn’t even hesitate.’
In the footage, Russell, in her white t-shirt and jeans, with long black hair, can be seen trying desperately to get the driver to stop, as two people are shunted along the road on the hood of his car.
‘I ran over there, tried to grab the steering wheel,’ she said. ‘I was like – what the hell are you doing? You are literally hurting these people.
‘They are doing nothing. ‘He grabbed my sign through the window and ripped it. I reached in for the steering wheel, and he grabbed my sign, but didn’t hold onto it so I have both pieces.’
Up until that point, Russell said the march of 300-400 people had been peaceful – although many other motorists in staunchly-Republican Iowa had ‘flipped us off’ as they drove past.
Stacey Walker, 34, a local politician who sits on the board of Linn County Board of Supervisors, told DailyMail.com that the march had been ‘pretty uneventful’ as it wound through the city past main landmarks, and drew to a close.
He said there had been some hecklers, but nothing out of the ordinary. He then became aware of the commotion, and saw an aide from his office being pushed along the road – one of two people being shunted by the pickup truck.
Walker sprinted to the car, and in social media videos can be seen yelling at the driver. It was pretty evident the driver didn’t intend to stop,’ Walker said. ‘I’m guessing this gentleman did not agree with what we were doing.
