Transgender Activists Occupy Capitol Hill Bathrooms, Get Arrested

On December 5, transgender activists occupied two women’s restrooms on Capitol Hill, intensifying their push for access to areas typically designated for women. One group occupied a bathroom in the Capitol Visitor Center, while another, which included Chelsea Manning, took over a bathroom in a hallway used by representatives.

The activists claimed their actions were a harmless plea for privacy, wearing shirts that read, “We Just Need to Pee: Let us Be.”

Over a dozen activists were arrested for the protest. Manning, a former Army analyst convicted of leaking classified information, was among those arrested for obstructing inside the Cannon House Office Building.

The protest targeted House Speaker Mike Johnson’s rule and included banners reading “Flush Bathroom Bigotry” and chants directed at Johnson and Rep. Nancy Mace.

Mace, who proposed the rule, defended it, stating, “Biological men do not belong in private women’s spaces,” while facing threats over her stance.

The incident has shed light on the ongoing tensions surrounding transgender rights and access to women’s spaces, with increasing public opposition to such actions, particularly among conservative and feminist groups.

Men pretending to be women and LGBTQ activists held a protest in a bathroom in the Capitol to protest banning men from women’s restrooms pic.twitter.com/ztKmczcUxW

— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) December 5, 2024