Ellison arrested during immigration protest
WASHINGTON - The federal government is shut down. Congress is deadlocked. And for a while on Tuesday, Rep. Keith Ellison was locked up.
The four-term Democrat joined a rally on the National Mall to urge Congress to vote on an overhaul of the nation's immigration laws (remember that issue?) and was one of seven lawmakers who were arrested by U.S. Capitol Police for blocking a street.
Ellison's office said he wasn't available for an interview Tuesday afternoon because he was still at a police processing facility and would be released in the order he was arrested after paying a fine.
Ellison was also arrested in 2009 while participating in a protest in front of the Sudanese Embassy in Washington, criticizing the president of Sudan for alleged atrocities in the country and for expelling 16 aid agencies from Darfur.
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