How William Barber’s latest prayer-protest led to his arrest at the Capitol

The Rev. William J. Barber II warned congressional Republicans against weaponizing “our tax dollars against us” after he was arrested last week in the U.S. Capitol following a prayer-protest against potential cuts to Medicaid. 

Barber, a pastor and civil rights activist known for his progressive, faith-based advocacy, was at the Capitol as part of his Moral Monday sermon series. 

Barber told NBC News that he was praying for senators to spare Medicaid in their plans for vast government spending cuts. Medicaid, the largest health care program in the country, provides coverage for more than 71 million low-income people.

“This budget cut does not affect one side or the other. Coming out of Covid, we all learned that Covid did not kill people for being Black or white or Republican or Democrat,” said Barber, who also contributes to MSNBC. He added the virus “did not discriminate, and neither should our health care.”

Barber has also long been critical of what he described as President Donald Trump’s “extremist policies.”

“We recognize that if Trump were out of office, these policies would still be pushed by the majority,” Barber said. “We have to focus heavily on the policies and go after them. Not the individual.”

In recent weeks, Republicans have unveiled plans to strip down the Affordable Care Act as part of a sweeping spending cut. The House Energy and Commerce Committee, which oversees Medicaid, is tasked with cutting $880 billion in spending. Democrats in the House and progressive groups argue the GOP will have to make drastic cuts to Medicaid to meet the threshold. 

Committee chair Brett Guthrie, R-Ky., said the cuts will allow for better health care options. Republicans also said the cuts are geared toward preventing Medicaid abuse, though the specifics remain unclear.

Congress has weeks to pass a sweeping budget that support Trump’s agenda. Republicans have said they are aiming to cut fraud and waste from federal spending but specifics have been minimal thus far. 

Republicans are weighing new work requirements for able-bodied adults seeking Medicaid and rules to prevent noncitizens from receiving benefits.

“People are dying from poverty every day,” Barber said. “This is a crisis of civilization. This is a crisis of democracy. This is not about being Black or white, left or right. This is about life and death.”

Poverty contributed to the deaths of about 183,000 people in the United States in 2019, according to a study by David Brady, a professor of the University of Southern California’s Price School of Public Policy. Limited access to health care, poor nutrition and exposure to environmental hazards all contribute to higher rates of illness and premature death among low-income communities. 

Highlighting those disparities is part of Barber’s Poor People Campaign, a broader effort to lobby for economic equality that began with protests during Trump’s first term in office. 

“When we talk to poor and lower-wage voters about why they don’t vote, the No. 1 reason is that nobody talks to them,” he said. “Conversations around poverty center the middle class and wealthy. We have to have a change of our language and our focus.”

In a letter sent to congressional leaders on both sides of the aisle last week, Repairers of the Breach, Barber’s social justice organization, said Black and Latino communities would most likely bear the brunt of the impact of Medicaid cuts.

Barber and others have regularly organized Moral Monday protests for more than a decade. Barber said hundreds of supporters arrived at the protest at the Capitol last week but were largely denied entry to the building. He and a smaller group that gained access to the rotunda proceeded with silent prayer until the police intervened. Barber and faith leaders Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove and Steven Swayne were arrested and charged with crowding, obstructing and incommoding. 

Capitol Police told NBC News the group also violated federal regulations that prohibit demonstrations, including prayer, in congressional buildings. The arrests resulted in tickets.

In support of Barber, Repairers of the Breach announced that “the clergy and impacted persons and advocates will go to the US Capitol to deliver a written moral analysis done by Repairers and the Institute for Policy Studies” and that they would return to the U.S. Capitol and the Supreme Court every month until a change is made in favor of the millions affected.