BOISE, Idaho — For the second time this week, protesters at the Idaho State Capitol were arrested while demonstrating against a bill that would tighten bathroom rules. Six people were handcuffed on Friday during a sit-in protest inside a men's bathroom.
WATCH | Second group of protesters detained this week at Capitol—
Chants echoed through the Capitol from inside the bathroom, where six LGBTQ+ advocates staged the sit-in. House Bill 752, known as the "bathroom bill," requires people to use public bathrooms and locker rooms based on their biological sex, rather than their gender identity.
Protesters said they were there to make a point about what they believe this space could look like once the new law takes effect on July 1.
"I mean, there's no law currently to be in the wrong bathroom illegally, so I mean if I'm just doing my makeup and using the bathroom, we're hoping there won't be a reason to be detained," Alisha Sherman said.
Protesters were warned multiple times by Idaho State Police to lower their chanting and whistling. One officer told Idaho News 6 the issue was not who was inside the bathroom, but how loud it had become inside the Capitol, which he described as a workspace where children were also present.
The demonstration continued for about two hours until Boise Police and Idaho State Police entered the bathroom. The six demonstrators were handcuffed, zip-tied, and escorted out of the House chamber's office.
Justice Newstrand, a transgender man who took part in the protest earlier but was not detained, said the law will force him to use the women's bathroom.
"By July, I should look a lot more like my gender, and it's going to be upsetting for women around me when I have to go to the women's bathroom to avoid a felony,” Newstrand said. “It makes me uncomfortable because I feel like I'm making other people uncomfortable, but I'm not really scared of it.”
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Protester Samantha Hager said sharing a bathroom with trans women has never been a concern for her.
"It's just another person entering the bathroom, and that at the end of the day, that's what it is. We're going to the bathroom. That's how absurd this is," Hager said.
This demonstration comes just days after multiple people were arrested for protesting the same legislation from inside Governor Brad Little's office.
"People's genitals are not anyone's business, unless you're gonna be seeing them in bathrooms, you do not do that. It's like a weird obsession people have," Newstrand said.
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