About 15 protestors affiliated with the Gender Liberation Movement were arrested on Thursday for protesting the anti-trans bathroom policy that was introduced by U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) and enacted last month by U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.).

Whistleblower Chelsea Manning and social justice advocates Raquel Willis and Renee Bracey Sherman were among those who were arrested in the women’s bathroom and the hallway outside Johnson’s office in the Cannon House Office Building.

Demonstrators held banners reading “FLUSH BATHROOM BIGOTRY” and “CONGRESS: STOP PISSING ON OUR RIGHTS!” They chanted, “SPEAKER JOHNSON, NANCY MACE, OUR GENDERS ARE NO DEBATE!” and “WHEN TRANS FOLKS ARE UNDER ATTACK WHAT DO WE DO? ACT UP, FIGHT BACK!”

Protests began around 12:10 p.m. ET. Within 30 minutes, Capitol Police arrived on the scene, began making arrests, and cleared the area. A spokesperson told Axios the demonstration was an illegal violation of the D.C. code against crowding, obstructing or incommoding.

Mace and her flame-throwing House GOP allies have said the bathroom policy was meant to target Sarah McBride, the Delaware state senator who will become the first transgender member of Congress after she is seated in January.

LGBTQ groups, elected Democrats, and others have denounced the move as a bigoted effort to bully and intimidate a new colleague, with many asking how the policy’s proponents would enforce the measure.

Outside her office in the Longworth House Office Building, the Washington Blade requested comment from Mace about the protests and arrests.

“Yeah, I went to the Capitol Police station where they were being processed, so I’ll be posting what I said shortly,” the congresswoman said.

Using an anti-trans slur, Mace posted a video to her X account in which she says, “alright, so some tranny protestors showed up at the Capitol today to protest my bathroom bill, but they got arrested — poor things.”

“So I have a message for the protestors who got arrested,” the congresswoman continued, and then spoke into a megaphone as she read the Miranda warning. “If you cannot afford an attorney — I doubt many of you can — one will be provided to you at the government’s expense,” she said.

“Everyone deserves to use the restroom without fear of discrimination or violence. Trans folks are no different. We deserve dignity and respect and we will fight until we get it,” Gender Liberation Movement co-founder Raquel Willis said in a press release.

“In the 2024 election, trans folks were left to fend for ourselves after nearly $200 million of attack ads were disseminated across the United States,” she said. “Now, as Republican politicians, try to remove us from public life, Democratic leaders are silent as hell.”

Willis continued, “But we can’t transform bigotry and hate with inaction. We must confront it head on. Democrats must rise up, filibuster, and block this bill.”

President-elect Donald Trump nominated openly gay hedge fund executive Scott Bessent as U.S. Treasury secretary on Friday.

Once a prolific donor to Democrats and a protege of liberal billionaire philanthropist George Soros, if confirmed Bessent would be the first LGBTQ official to lead the Treasury Department and the second gay cabinet secretary after Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.

“Trump’s selection of Bessent, who is also openly gay, married, and has two children with his partner, is also a reminder of President Trump’s love and respect for LGBT Americans,” the conservative LGBTQ group Log Cabin Republicans said in a statement.

“Scott Bessent is a terrific choice to become the next Treasury Secretary and the Log Cabin Republicans applaud President Trump for his pick,” the organization wrote. “As one of the most brilliant minds in the financial space and a vocal supporter of President Trump’s economic agenda, Bessent will be a strong asset to help President Trump put America back on the path to financial security and economic prosperity.”

Equality Forum, a national LGBTQ civil rights organization, which oversees LGBT History Month, noted the nomination of Scott Bessent in a press release, writing that he “is highly regarded by the financial community and founder of a global macro investment firm.”

Equality Forum Executive Director Malcolm Lazin added, “If confirmed, Bessent will be the highest ranking openly gay U.S. government official in American history.”

During a briefing on Thursday, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre addressed the controversy over House Speaker Mike Johnson’s (R-La.) move to restrict access to single-sex facilities in the U.S. Capitol and House office buildings based on birth gender.

The new policy, which mirrors a proposal introduced by U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) on Monday that was supported by other House Republicans including U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (Ga.), comes as Congress prepares to welcome its first trans member, Sarah McBride.

Mace conceded that her bathroom policy was intended to target the Delaware state senator, who will represent the state’s at-large congressional district when she is seated in January.

“When I think about that question, I think about what the congresswoman-elect said,” Jean-Pierre told reporters, referencing a statement issued by McBride on Wednesday. “As you know, the president has a close relationship with and is very proud of her.”

She continued, “And what she said is ‘I’m not here to fight about bathrooms. I’m here to fight for Delawareans and to bring down costs facing families.’ And we agree with her. We think that’s incredibly important: To focus on the American people” and her constituents.

Asked whether President Joe Biden has been in touch with McBride in recent days, Jean-Pierre said, “I don’t have a conversation to speak to,” adding that “as you know” the two spoke when the president made a congratulatory call to McBride on election night.

“He was able to call her and congratulate her,” the press secretary said. “I don’t have anything else to add, but I think her words speak volumes.”

McBride’s statement, published on X, reads in part, “Like all members, I will follow the rules as outlined by Speaker Johnson, even if I disagree with them. This effort to distract from the real issues facing this country hasn’t distracted me over the last several days.”

I’m not here to fight about bathrooms. I’m here to fight for Delawareans and to bring down costs facing families. pic.twitter.com/bCuv7pIZBY

— Sarah McBride (@SarahEMcBride) November 20, 2024

Following Johnson’s introduction of the bathroom policy on Wednesday, Human Rights Campaign President Kelley Robinson shared a statement with the Washington Blade:

“This new cruel and discriminatory policy has nothing to do with helping the American people or addressing their priorities–it’s all about hurting people.

“It targets not just Rep.-elect McBride, but all trans and nonbinary people who work and visit the Capitol — public servants who have been working in the Capitol for years but are now suddenly the subject of cynical political games.

Speaker Johnson has proven yet again that the Republican majority is more focused on culture wars than on the needs of the country.”