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Medicaid Expansion Supporters Disrupt Missouri Senate

Members of Mo. Senate pause and watch a group of protesters chant slogans calling for Medicaid expansion.  Nearly two dozen were arrested, but they were released shortly afterward.
Credit Marie French, St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Members of Mo. Senate pause and watch a group of protesters chant slogans calling for Medicaid expansion. Nearly two dozen were arrested, but they were released shortly afterward.

Twenty-three people were arrested at the Missouri Capitol Tuesday following a protest supporting Medicaid expansion. The protesters began shouting slogans and singing songs from the public gallery above the State Senate floor during debate on an unrelated bill.  Within seconds of the start of the protest, Senate Majority Floor Leader Ron Richard, R-Joplin, moved to halt proceedings on the floor until the protesters could be removed.

"Mr. President, I would ask the Senate to stand at recess until the upper gallery is cleared!" Richard said to Senate President Pro-tem Tom Dempsey, R-St. Charles, who responded, "Hearing no objection, Senator, the Senate will stand at ease!"

The protestors who were arrested refused to leave when asked by the Capitol police. A spokesman with the Department of Public Safety says they were checked for active warrants, but none were taken into custody.

Missouri lawmakers have so far rebuffed efforts to expand Medicaid in next year's state budget, although an alternate expansion plan that includes reforms was recently added to a related bill that was voted out of a House committee last week.

Portions of the protest can be heard here:

Follow Marshall Griffin on Twitter: @MarshallGReport

Copyright 2020 St. Louis Public Radio. To see more, visit St. Louis Public Radio.

Marshall Griffin is the Statehouse reporter for St. Louis Public Radio.
Marshall Griffin
St. Louis Public Radio State House Reporter Marshall Griffin is a native of Mississippi and proud alumnus of Ole Miss (welcome to the SEC, Mizzou!). He has been in radio for over 20 years, starting out as a deejay. His big break in news came when the first President Bush ordered the invasion of Panama in 1989. Marshall was working the graveyard shift at a rock station, and began ripping news bulletins off an old AP teletype and reading updates between songs. From there on, his radio career turned toward news reporting and anchoring. In 1999, he became the capital bureau chief for Florida's Radio Networks, and in 2003 he became News Director at WFSU-FM/Florida Public Radio. During his time in Tallahassee he covered seven legislative sessions, Governor Jeb Bush's administration, four hurricanes, the Terri Schiavo saga, and the 2000 presidential recount. Before coming to Missouri, he enjoyed a brief stint in the Blue Ridge Mountains, reporting and anchoring for WWNC-AM in Asheville, North Carolina. Marshall lives in Jefferson City with his wife, Julie, their dogs, Max and Liberty Belle, and their cat, Honey.
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