At least nine people protesting inside the statehouse office of Idaho Gov. Brad Little were arrested Wednesday and charged with misdemeanor trespassing. The group, which included individuals between the ages of 34 and 84, was allegedly protesting the governor's Tuesday signing of house bill 752, which blocks transgender people from any public bathroom or changing area not aligned with their sex at birth. Idaho State Police in a press release said the nine people it arrested had refused orders to leave the building "after business hours."
A gofundme.com crowdfunding page started by Sara LaWall, which matches the name of one of the arrested protestors, said the group had gathered to request a meeting with the governor, "to speak directly to the real harm caused when he signed HB 752 into law." The post said the group was told the governor was unavailable, so they elected to wait, holding a "peaceful sit in."
Lawmakers from both the House and Senate were in the building at the time of the arrests, as both chambers were working late toward concluding the current session. Capitol hours also differ between state agency websites. The Idaho Capitol Commission website lists Capitol hours as 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. The State Historical Society website lists Capitol hours as 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday through Friday.
State police announced the arrests as happening at "approximately 5:30 p.m." Booking data from the Ada County Sheriff's Office shows 10 consecutive individuals booked on misdemeanor trespassing charges starting Wednesday at 5:10 pm. Sheriff’s office spokesperson, Deputy Emily Walker, confirmed that booking times listed are when suspects are processed upon arriving at the jail. Non-emergency vehicle travel time from the capitol complex to the county jail facility near Cole and Franklin roads is around 10 minutes, according to Google maps. ISP spokesperson Aaron Snell said he was unable to get additional information about the specific timing of the arrests.
The 10th trespassing arrest was made by Boise Police, but a department spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for confirmation on whether it was connected to the other nine arrests.
Several suspects had bonded out of custody within a few hours of booking. The gofundme.com page had surpassed its $20,000 goal within a few hours for suspects' bail and legal costs.
