‘She did not deserve this,’ Warnock said

Senator Raphael Warnock visited Georgia state Rep. Park Cannon at Fulton County Jail after she was arrested for attempting to witness Gov. Brian Kemp’s signing of the state’s new restrictive voting bill.

Cannon was detained by police after repeatedly knocking on Kemp’s office door demanding to witness the signing of the controversial bill which, in part, prohibits people from giving food or water to people waiting in line to vote.

Read More: Georgia lawmaker arrested for knocking on Gov. Kemp’s door amid election bill

“She did not deserve this,” Warnock said. He compared Cannon’s treatment to the lack of arrests that took place on the day of the Capitol Insurrection on Jan. 6.

“Today is a very sad day for the state of Georgia,” the freshman Senator told reporters outside of the jail. “What we have witnessed today is a very desperate attempt to lock out and squeeze the people out of their own democracy.”

The restrictive new laws have been compared to Jim Crow-era laws and are seen as a direct attack on the voting rights of Black people. In his statement to reporters, Warnock mentioned that Cannon is a member of his church, Ebenezer Baptist Church which was once led by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Dr. Bernice King condemned Cannon’s arrest calling it “despicable.” She said it was “reminiscent of everything that my father, John Lewis, CT Vivian, Amelia Boynton and so many others sacrificed their lives for.”

Read More: Trump pushes for Herschel Walker to run against Warnock in Georgia

In an appearance on CNN, King said of Cannon, “I applaud her bravery and her courage because we’re in those times now. Not in a violent way, but in a nonviolent way, we are going to have to be willing to be courageous and continue to let our voices be heard and strategize and mobilize, and sometimes, we’ve got to sacrifice where it hurts.”

Warnock added, “The people are being locked down and locked out of their own democracy. This effort to silence the voices of Georgians…will not stand.”

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