Four people were arrested this morning during a sit-in in front of Senator Joseph Lieberman's office in Hartford. The arrestees were among 30 demonstrators who sought a public meeting with the Senator to confront him on his stance on healthcare reform while at the same time accepting donations from the health insurance industry. Since 1989 the Senator has accepted over 2 million dollars in contributions from the health care industry, which demonstrators say has unduly influenced his stance on reform.
After repeated requests for the Senator to meet with his constituents either in person or over the phone were declined, Jason Ortiz, along with Paul Blasenheim, Lauren Serven, and James Romer, sat down on the sidewalk in front of the entrance to the office building and refused to move until their demands to meet with the Senator were met. Demonstrators not sitting marched on the sidewalk chanting Lieberman profits, people die, health care for all! The four were quickly arrested and taken to Hartford Police Headquarters for processing.