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Ebenezer pastor arrested during Capitol protest

The Rev. Raphael G. Warnock was arrested Tuesday by Capitol police during a protest of faith leaders against the Trump Administration’s proposed budget and efforts to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. 

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Rev. Raphael G. Warnock was among several pastors arrested in Washington, D.C. during a protest against the proposed budget and efforts to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act.

A photo shows Warnock, senior pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church, was escorted out of the building in handcuffs by Capitol police.

Spokeswoman Tenisha Bell said Warnock and other faith leaders were singing and praying in the Russell Senate Office building.

Warnock and the Rev. Cynthia L. Hale, senior pastor of Ray of Hope Christian Church, were among a group of pastors who went to Washington to highlight the cuts in President Donald Trump's budget that would adversely affect black communities, including proposed decreases in funding for education and civil rights programs.

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"This budget, which slashes programs for those who need it the most in order to provide a tax cut to those who need it the least, suggests that there is a spiritual sickness in the body politics," Warnock said.

Likewise, Trump proposed zeroing out federal support for legal aid, which the White House said would put more control in local hands.

After his arrest, Warnock released the following statement.

As a pastor, I believe that the national budget is not just a fiscal document, but a moral document.  It reflects what we believe and who we are for one another. And if this mean spirited budget were an EKG, it would indicate that America has a heart condition. The government is taking student aid, job training and medicine from those who need it most in order to give a tax cut to those who need it least. We came to Washington as voices of healing and justice. America is better than this. That's our message. And when I consider those who will suffer, my getting arrested is a small price to pay.