Activists Air Christine Blasey Ford Testimony Outside Gala For Brett Kavanaugh

WASHINGTON ― Protesters set up a massive video billboard outside of a Thursday night gala honoring Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh and, for hours, aired Christine Blasey Ford’s Senate testimony on a loop in which she spelled out how Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her in high school.

“We still believe Christine Blasey Ford,” read a line across the top of the screen, which was set up by the progressive judicial advocacy group Demand Justice.

Watch the video above to see the giant screen airing Ford’s Senate testimony in front of Kavanaugh’s dinner guests.

The screen was placed right in front a bustling Union Station in Washington, D.C. as hundreds of Federalist Society members, decked out in tuxedos and fur coats, stood in line to get into the annual fundraiser for the conservative lawyers’ group.

For some reason, and to the delight of activists with Demand Justice and Center for Popular Democracy Action, the line to get into the dinner was at a standstill for well over an hour, which meant attendees had no choice but to stand outside with the giant screen in plain view.

They also had to stand there as a few dozen protesters waved anti-Kavanaugh signs and chanted “shame!” and “hey hey, ho ho, Kavanaugh has got to go!” at the line.

Down by the VIP entrance to the event, where Kavanaugh himself would likely enter the dinner, Demand Justice hoisted a large banner with helium balloons that read “Kavanaugh Lied.”

For added effect, some young women came dressed at handmaids from The Handmaid’s Tale and solemnly stood next to the line in red hooded capes with their heads bowed. It was a striking contrast to the long line of mostly older white men in suits, eager to get into the private event.

Inside the dinner, Kavanaugh reportedly said the theme of his speech was “gratitude” ― and was promptly interrupted by protesters blowing whistles.

During Kavanaugh’s confirmation hearing in 2018, Ford testified that a drunk Kavanaugh pushed her into a room at a 1982 party, pinned her down, groped her and covered her mouth when she tried to scream. Her testimony took place as two more women came forward with sexual misconduct allegations against him. Senate Republicans confirmed Kavanaugh anyway.

“The Federalist Society is trying to rehabilitate a credibly accused sexual predator, and we will not allow them to forget Dr. Christine Blasey Ford and Kavanaugh’s other accusers,” said Katie O’Connor of Demand Justice. “Kavanaugh is not the hero of this story. We still believe Christine Blasey Ford, and we won’t let him forget that. Putting on a new robe can’t be allowed to erase credible accusations of sexual assault.”

HuffPost spotted a couple of familiar faces in line for Thursday’s gala. Former U.S. deputy attorney general Rod Rosenstein was among those waiting to get in, as was newly confirmed U.S. circuit court judge Eric Murphy, a 39-year-old lawyer who previously led repeated efforts to make it harder for people to vote.

Both are Federalist Society members, as is Kavanaugh.

The Federalist Society has been behind many of President Donald Trump’s nominees to federal courts. Leonard Leo, the group’s executive vice president, has played an outsized role in the selection and confirmation of four conservative Supreme Court justices: John Roberts, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch and Kavanaugh.

The conservative lawyer’s group maintains that it takes no official positions on policies; rather, it advocates principles, like the duty of the judiciary to “say what the law is, not what it should be.” But there’s a clear pattern to the nominees being fed to Trump by the group: They are young, conservative and have records of being anti-abortion, anti-LGBTQ rights and anti-voting rights.

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This article originally appeared on HuffPost.