Eleven antiwar protesters were arrested Wednesday after they occupied the office of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) on Capitol Hill to demand the senator support efforts at diplomacy over sending further U.S. aid, such as weapons, to Ukraine.

Capitol Police arrested the 11 people inside the Dirksen Senate Office Building under a D.C. code that prohibits crowding, obstructing or incommoding, a Capitol Police spokesperson said.

The code is often cited when arresting protesters during peaceful planned acts of civil disobedience.

“Yes, Bernie should condemn the Russian invasion, but he should also be calling for a negotiated end to this brutal war,” Crystal Zevon, from Barnet, Vt., said in the news release.

A spokesperson for Sanders said the senator’s chief of staff, foreign policy adviser and Vermont state director met with Vermonters who were concerned about the war.

“The U.S. should support a just peace in Ukraine, based on the principles of territorial integrity, sovereignty, and international law,” Sanders wrote in the letter.

The original article contains 244 words, the summary contains 161 words. Saved 34%. I'm a bot and I'm open source!