Protestor's Hidden Camera Capture Supreme Court For First Time

What's This?

By Fran Berkman2014-02-27 23:24:57 UTC

In an unprecedented act, a protester appears to have smuggled a video camera into the U.S. Supreme Court, captured footage of proceedings and posted it to YouTube.

The two-minute video ends with a plug for the website of a campaign finance reform activist group called 99Rise. The video's climactic moment shows a man rising and shouting at the court before being grabbed by guards.

See also: Tumblr Makes First Appearance Before the Supreme Court

"I rise on behalf of the vast majority of the American people who believe that money is not speech and corporations are not people and our democracy should not be for sale to the highest bidder," the protester says. "Overturn Citizens United. Keep the cap in McCutcheon. The people demand democracy."

Reuters identified the man as Noah Newkirk, of Los Angeles, and reported he was arrested and charged with using "loud threatening or abusive language" in the Supreme Court.

Newkirk's protest was directed at two Supreme Court cases that both involve campaign finance. In the 2010 Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission case, the court dissolved political spending limits for corporations and labor unions. The court is currently considering the case of McCutcheon v. Federal Election Commission, in which an Alabama businessman is arguing that current limits on an individual's aggregate political contributions are unconstitutionally low.

The hidden camera video seems to show two separate hearings. First, it shows oral arguments in the McCutcheon case from last October. Then, it shows a Wednesday hearing in patent case unrelated to campaign finance, during which Newkirk stages his protest.

Newkirk, who goes by the nickname "Kai," tweeted that he was released from jail Thursday evening.

Spectators are required to check all electronic devices at the door before entering the Supreme Court. It's unclear how the person who filmed the hearings was able to smuggle his camera into the court.

Have something to add to this story? Share it in the comments.

Topics: activism, Campaign finance, Citizens United, Supreme Court, U.S., US & World, YouTube