Nearly two dozen people were arrested and cited for criminal trespassing at the Kentucky Capitol on Wednesday after protesting a bill in the Bluegrass State pushed by Republicans to ban transgender procedures for minors.
The protest — which came as the state House voted to override Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear’s veto of Senate Bill 150 — resulted in the arrests of 19 people, according to a statement shared with Fox News Digital from Captain Paul Blanton, a spokesperson for Kentucky State Police (KSP).
“The Sergeant of Arms requested that KSP assist in restoring order today in the House gallery chambers. KSP gave each individual the option to leave without any enforcement action or be placed under arrest,” Blanton said. “KSP arrested 19 individuals. They have been cited for criminal trespassing 3rd degree. The Franklin County District Court authorized that the individuals could be released on their own recognizance.”
Last week, Beshear vetoed the legislation that prohibits transgender procedures for minors, as well as restricts bathrooms based on biological sex. Additionally, the bill also bans instruction about sexual orientation and gender identity in schools and empowers teachers to decline using a student’s preferred pronoun.
The GOP-led Kentucky Legislature, which passed the bill with sufficient votes, overrode Beshear’s veto when they reconvened Wednesday for the last two days of their legislative session.
Photos and videos shared to social media by local reporters showed the pro-LGBTQ protesters acting chaotically as the House voted to override Beshear’s veto of the measure.
One video shared by Lexington Herald-Leader reporter Austin Horn showed a shouting protester having their hands placed in zip ties amid the House vote.
Hundreds of Kentucky students, according to Horn, gathered on the steps of the state Capitol Annex to protest the override and many “protesters moved inside once the legislature gaveled in, chanting and jeering loudly from the Capitol’s halls.”
KY GOV. ANDY BESHEAR VETOS GOP BILL AIMED AT REGULATING TRANSGENDER YOUTH
“At first, Capitol security and Kentucky State Police struggled to remove the protesters from the gallery,” Horn reported. “After about half an hour, they resorted to using zip ties to apprehend the protesters and lead them out of the Capitol.”
While protests are welcomed at the Capitol, House Speaker David Osborne, a Republican, said the behavior from those protesting Senate Bill 150 did not meet expected “levels of decorum.”
“We welcome everybody to be here, to participate in their government, and want everybody to be here to participate in their government. (But) we do expect that proper levels of decorum will be maintained to allow us to conduct our business. We felt it was important to proceed on with the business thing that we did,” Osborne said, according to one report.
Beshear said in a written veto message that Senate Bill 150 allows “too much government interference in personal healthcare issues and rips away the freedom of parents to make medical decisions for their children.”
In his message, Beshear warned that the bill’s repercussions would include an increase in youth suicides. The governor said: “My faith teaches me that all children are children of God and Senate Bill 150 will endanger the children of Kentucky.”
Beshear’s veto comes as he seeks re-election to a second term this year in Republican-trending Kentucky, and his veto could reverberate through the November election.
Fox News’ Jon Brown and The Associated Press contributed to this article.
