Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions will face a Senate confirmation vote to become the country’s next Attorney General later today, and protestors in Alabama are once again making their voices heard in opposition.
More than 100 people reportedly took part in a second sit-in at Senator Sessions’ office in Mobile. The office was closed, but demonstrators reportedly packed the building outside his office and in a second-floor lobby.
The NAACP released a statement yesterday saying, if confirmed, Sessions could undo years of progress. They fear he could crack down on immigration, fail to investigate police brutality, and roll back Department of Justice enforcement of civil rights laws.
Yesterday afternoon, the NAACP tweeted 30 people had been arrested for trespassing. Local media outlets reported the number of arrests at 11, including NAACP President Cornell Brooks and State President Benard Simelton. Both were also arrested and charged with trespassing in a sit-in earlier this month. Those charges were recently dropped by a Mobile prosecutor.
Sessions will likely be confirmed as Attorney General today. He only needs 51 votes, and Republicans hold 52 seats in the Senate. Also, at least one Democratic senator, Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) has pledged his support for Sessions.