Sarsour was arrested with nearly 70 others after blocking streets in an illegal protest.
By Associated Press and World Israel News Staff
Former Women’s March Leader Linda Sarsour, ousted from the movement for her anti-Israel and anti-Semitic views, was arrested in Louisville, Kentucky on Tuesday during a protest.
The protest march was over the police shooting of an unarmed black woman, Breonna Taylor, which led to more than 60 arrests on Tuesday near Churchill Downs, home of the Kentucky Derby.
The activist group Until Freedom organized the march that attracted hundreds to a park near the famed Louisville race track.
Activists have held demonstrations in this Kentucky city since late May to call for the arrest of the officers who shot Taylor. The 26-year-old woman was fatally shot in her home during a narcotics raid by police on March 13. No drugs were found.
Protesters walked Tuesday near a police training facility and then proceeded along a major avenue near the track. Many sat down to block traffic. Police had already blocked off the street and redirected traffic.
Louisville interim Police Chief Robert Schroeder said 64 people who sat down in the street were arrested and charged with disorderly conduct and obstructing a roadway.
Linda Sarsour, one of the co-founders of Until Freedom, spoke on a bullhorn to protesters before the arrests.
“We are on the right side of history,” Sarsour said. “Keep your head held high, do not be afraid and do not be intimidated.”
The protesters put up no resistance as police handcuffed them with plastic ties and led them away.
Last week, Joe Biden’s campaign disavowed the anti-Israel activist following a Democratic National Convention event that she addressed, a live stream on behalf of the convention’s Muslim Delegates Assembly.
Biden campaign spokesman Andrew Bates commented to CNN: “Joe Biden has been a strong supporter of Israel and a vehement opponent of anti-Semitism his entire life, and he obviously condemns her views and opposes [the anti-Israel boycott, divestment, and sanctions movement], as does the Democratic platform.”
Bates added, “She has no role in the Biden campaign whatsoever.”
The Biden campaign then attempted to do damage control afterwards, apologizing to Muslim supporters. “My apologies for what we did and what happened,” said Antony Blinken, foreign policy advisor for the Biden campaign.
Sarsour said that when the campaign disavows her views, “That means they condemn the views of 99.9 percent of the communities that I come from, who hold the exact views that I have.”