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Congress Watch · Report · File No. 261112-784

54 Sunrise protesters arrested at Schumer's DC office over leadership and filibuster

The youth climate group says 54 people were arrested in a sit-in demanding new Senate Democratic leadership and an end to the filibuster. It shows the pressure on Democrats before they pick a leader for the new Congress.

By the Capitol Desk · · 2 min read

Every quote in this story (2) was matched word for word against its source. How we work

My clippings
Chuck Schumer
Chuck Schumer. Photo: U.S. Senate Photographic Studio/Jeff McEvoy, Public domain

Dozens of protesters with the Sunrise Movement, a youth climate group, were arrested Thursday after a sit-in inside Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer's Washington office 1. The group says 54 people were arrested, out of a few hundred who joined the protest from across the country 1.

Protesters sat on the office floor and chanted "Hey hey, ho ho, Schumer has got to go!" 1 Signs read "The filibuster kills" and "Schumer: Step up or step aside." 1 The filibuster is a Senate rule that lets a minority of senators block most bills unless 60 of 100 vote to move ahead.

The group delivered a letter arguing it was time for change after what it called a collective decade of Schumer leadership. It also demanded that Democrats make ending the filibuster a priority when Congress returns in January 1. Protesters left the same letter at the office of every Senate Democrat 1.

Young people went to Senator Chuck Schumer’s office to demand a Senate majority leader that would fight for the young people who elected a historic blue wave last week. They’re demanding change, not the same old, same old
Kidus Girma, campaigns director, Sunrise Movement1

Pressure inside the party

Senate Democrats are preparing to vote on a majority leader for the next Congress 1. Several Democratic senators have said they will not back Schumer, including Bernie Sanders, an independent who caucuses with Democrats 1. So have several members of the freshman class, including Michigan's Abdul El-Sayed and South Carolina's Annie Andrews 1.

From Channel GOPLawmaker confronts Blanche with affidavit on pardoned January 6erChris Van Hollen · 476 plays · captioned, with the source named

Some have backed Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen as a challenger. They include Peggy Flanagan, Minnesota's senator-elect, and 50501, one of the major groups behind the No Kings protests 1. The report does not say whether Van Hollen is running.

This was the second sit-in at Schumer's office this week. On Tuesday, three protesters were arrested during an action by the youth group Get Free, which wants the new Congress to restore voting and civil rights 12. Its executive director, Nicole Carty, said: "The MAGA regime has undone 60 years of hard won civil rights victories." 2

Why young voters are in the story

Early data from Tufts University's Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement show the Nov. 3 election had the second-highest youth turnout for a midterm in 30 years. Only the 2018 midterms, in Donald Trump's first term, were higher 1.

Sunrise has protested politicians for years. Its first big moment was a 2018 sit-in at then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's office 1. Last week, a Sunrise co-founder, Will Lawrence, 36, won a Michigan U.S. House seat after campaigning against data centers 1.

What happens next

Sunrise's campaigns director, Kidus Girma, said Thursday's action is one of several planned over the next two weeks. They will target Senate Democrats and are "demanding they actually take action" 1. On Instagram, the group is raising $24,000 to cover bail and any legal fees for those arrested 1.

That matters because Democrats are deciding who leads them just as their own voters, especially young ones, are pressing for a break with the past. The filibuster fight is a test of how hard a new Democratic majority will push on bills that Republicans could otherwise block.

The Guardian's report did not include a response from Schumer's office. Arrest figures come from the Sunrise Movement, not from police.

The Record

  1. Sunrise first made headlines with a sit-in at then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's office 1.
  2. The midterm election saw the second-highest youth turnout for a midterm in 30 years, per early Tufts data 1.
  3. Three Get Free protesters were arrested at Schumer's Capitol Hill office 12.
  4. Sunrise says 54 people were arrested at a sit-in at Schumer's DC office 1.
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Sources

  1. The Guardian, “Dozens of protesters arrested after staging sit-in at Chuck Schumer’s DC office” (2026-11-12). theguardian.com/us-news/2026/nov/12/protesters-arrested-chuc
  2. Black Star News, “Several Arrested At Sen. Schumer’s Office During Youth Sit-In Demanding Democratic Leaders Make Civil Rights A Top Priority” (2026-11-10). blackstarnews.com/several-arrested-at-sen-schumers-office-du

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