Donald Trump’s first Supreme Court appointee, Neil Gorsuch passed through the nomination process with ease. His second nominee, Brett Kavanaugh, was much more controversial. Kavanaugh was accused of sexual assault by former classmate, Christine Blasey-Ford.
Despite a stirring testimony from the accuser, Republican senators were able to push the nomination through. Both Blasey-Ford and Kavanaugh were honored at dinner’s over the past week. While Blasey-Ford was well received, Kavanaugh’s event was marred by protesters who blew rape whistles and played videos of the senate testimony.
Blasey-Ford received the ACLU’s Rodger Baldwin Courage Award. She told the audience, “When I came forward last September, I did not feel courageous. I was simply doing my duty as a citizen, providing information to the Senate that I believed would be relevant to the Supreme Court nomination process. I thought anyone in my position would, of course, do the same thing.”
The college professor also thanked supporters for their kind letters. “I’m thankful that sharing my experience prompted over 200,000 people from across our country and around the world to send messages of support, many handwritten, sharing their own stories of assault and abuse.”
I’m thankful that sharing my experience prompted over 200,000 people from across our country and around the world to send messages of support, many handwritten, sharing their own stories of assault and abuse. pic.twitter.com/tyn4XGp4yq
— ACLU SoCal (@ACLU_SoCal) November 18, 2019
Kavanaugh, who was being lauded by the Federalist Society, received much different treatment. As people attending the event waited to get in the building, they encountered protesters in Handmaid’s Tale outfits. There were also rape whistles blown while a video of Blasey Ford’s testimony played on an outside screen.
We sure did blow rape whistles during Brett Kavanaugh’s speech #WeBelieveSurvivors #KavanaughLied pic.twitter.com/M9FzqVpfdk
— blackness everdeen 🐺 (@traceyecorder) November 15, 2019
Demand Justice was one of the groups responsible for the protest. The organizations Katie O’Connor told the Huff Post, “The Federalist Society is trying to rehabilitate a credibly accused sexual predator, and we will not allow them to forget Dr. Christine Blasey Ford and Kavanaugh’s other accusers. Kavanaugh is not the hero of this story. We still believe Christine Blasey Ford, and we won’t let him forget that. Putting on a new robe can’t be allowed to erase credible accusations of sexual assault.”