USA: Catholic clergy arrested at Capitol Hill sit-in for migrant children

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Catholic clergy members and believers were arrested in Washington DC's Capitol Hill on Thursday after holding a sit-in to protest the Trump administration's treatment of child migrants.

The protest was organised as a 'Catholic Day in Action for detained immigrant children' by several faith-based organisations and saw up to 200 Catholic priests, nuns, and lay members protesting at Capitol Hill's Russell Senate Office Building.

Footage shows protesters holding photos of children in federal custody, as well as protesters laying on the floor of the building's rotunda.

Police subsequently restrained protesters with zip tie handcuffs before leading them away to a police bus.

A total of 70 protesters were arrested for unlawfully demonstration and were charged with obstruction of a public space, according to reports citing US Capitol Police.

Conditions in detention facilities have come under intense scrutiny in recent weeks, with detainees complaining of squalid conditions and mistreatment by staff.

US border Patrol officials and the White House have contested the reports of unsanitary and unsafe conditions for children at federal detention centres.

Video ID: 20190719-003

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