Fil-Am city councilor arrested at hearings for Trump nominee

Bremerton City Councilwoman Leslie Daugs is led out of a U.S. Senate hearing in handcuffs. CONTRIBUTED

SAN FRANCISCO — Bremerton City, Washington Councilwoman Leslie Daugs was arrested Tuesday, Feb.1 for shouting an expletive at a Senate confirmation hearing for U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions for attorney general.

Daugs, a Democrat and critic of the Trump administration, told the Kitsap Sun that she yelled, “This is bull—-,” incurring the attention of the Capitol Police. She was escorted out, cuffed and taken to a station and released after about four hours.

Bremerton City, Washington Councilwoman Leslie Daugs. CONTRIBUTED

Daugs said she was provoked by two men who she said were “strong supporters” of Trump and who were “high-fiving and fist-bumping” while Republicans, including Sen. Ted Cruz, spoke highly of Sessions. So Daugs said she blurted out her own feelings.

“All their little antics went unnoticed,” Daugs said. “And my antic was noticed,” she told the Sun.

It’s illegal “to utter loud, threatening, or abusive language, or to engage in any disorderly or disruptive conduct” on Capitol grounds.”

Daugs said she has no regrets about her remark or arrest. Daugs, who works as a security guard at Mountain View Middle School and is president of the local chapter of the Service Employees International Union.

She is in her third term on the City Council. She told the Sun her values as a Filipino American and a woman are at risk. “I need to speak up, for all the people I represent,” she said.

If convicted of the misdemeanor, Daugs faces a maximum penalty of a $500 fine and six months in prison, according to the laws of the District of Columbia. She has a Feb. 15 court date in Washington, D.C.