A U.S. House representative's transgender daughter was arrested in Boston on Saturday, when an anti-abortion demonstration drew counter-protesters.
Riley Dowell, a 24-year-old who police identified by her birth name, was arraigned at Boston Municipal Court on Monday on charges of disorderly conduct and interfering with lawful assembly. She is the daughter of congresswoman Katherine Clark, the Democrat from Massachusetts, who has served as minority whip since 2023.
All 17 people arrested were believed to be counter-protesters, Boston Police Department told Newsweek.
Dowell and 15 others were offered a deal that will see all charges dropped if they perform 40 hours of community service, Boston.com reported. The other person, who was arrested for allegedly assaulting a police officer, was not offered the deal, it added.
Newsweek contacted the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office and Representative Clark for comment on Tuesday by email outside of regular office hours.
Rep. Clark told The Boston Herald of her daughter's arrest: "Every American has the right to protest and stand up for their beliefs, but they must do so responsibly and peacefully."
Abortion rights debates have reignited since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June 2022, allowing states to create a patchwork of legislation across the country. Massachusetts generally restricts abortion at 24 weeks post-fertilization.
On Saturday, clashes began after several hundred people attended a National Men's March to Abolish Abortion and Rally for Personhood demonstration, which began outside a Planned Parenthood facility on Commonwealth Avenue, local media reported.
'Extremely Hazardous'
A similar sized group of counter-protesters opposed the demonstration, some of whom attempted to block its progress towards Boston Common.
Boston police said the counter-protest created an "extremely hazardous and offensive condition." As officers cleared the march route, those arrested "refused to peacefully disperse, they were extremely riotous and tumultuously assembled," police added.
Dowell was previously arrested in January 2023 after allegedly being part of a group that defaced a Boston Common monument with anti-police graffiti.
Dowell received a pre-trial probation term of one year, with the case dismissed if she fulfilled a number of conditions, including 30 hours of community service, a letter of apology to the injured officers and restitution for expenses incurred removing the paint.
Rep. Clark was herself arrested in July 2022 during a demonstration after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. In a statement at the time, she said: "I am furious and heartbroken, and I will proudly fight for our right to abortion. They can arrest me, but we won't allow them to arrest freedom."
Earlier this month, voters in seven states passed ballot measures that would protect abortion rights: Maryland, Missouri, Arizona, Colorado, New York, Montana and Nevada. Similar legislation in South Dakota and Florida did not pass, while Nebraska voted to prohibit abortion past the first trimester.
On Monday a judge in Wyoming struck down two laws restricting abortion access which she claimed impeded the "fundamental right to make health care decisions for an entire class of people, pregnant women."
The legislation banned abortion in all cases except where the mother's life was at risk, or in cases of rape or incest that had been reported to the police.
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