They Were Voting on a Bill. Then the 'Blood' Rained Down

Woman allegedly hurled menstrual cup with what 'appeared to be blood' at Calif. state senators
By Jenn Gidman,  Newser Staff
Posted Sep 14, 2019 6:00 AM CDT
They Were Voting on a Bill. Then the 'Blood' Rained Down
Stock photo.   (Getty Images/PhotographyPerspectives)

California's state senators trying to get through the last day of the legislative year in Sacramento got a somewhat early break Friday after a protester's actions spurred the evacuation of the Capitol's chambers. The Sacramento Bee and Los Angeles Times report that around 5:15pm, as the Senate was involved in a vote for a sexual harassment bill, a woman on the visitors gallery balcony IDed as 43-year-old Rebecca Dalelio is said to have thrown what the California Highway Patrol calls "a feminine hygiene device containing what appeared to be blood." Someone also shouted something like "That's for the dead babies!" as the device—what the Bee describes as a menstrual cup—plummeted to the ground. State Sen. Steve Glazer tells the Bee he and five other lawmakers were splattered with whatever liquid was in the menstrual container.

The lawmakers were cleared out and came back about three hours later to finish their work in another room. The leader of the group that put together the rally, meant to protest two vaccination bills passed earlier this week, spoke out on the incident. "We strongly denounce this," says Jonathan Lockwood, head of Conscience Coalition. "It goes far beyond crossing a line." Local lawmakers agree. "[Anti-vaxxers are] a cancer on the body politic and are attacking democracy," tweeted Sen. Scott Wiener right after the incident. A rep for Gov. Gavin Newsom called the act "despicable." Dalelio—whose social media shows her anti-vaccination inclinations, per the Bee—was hit with felony vandalism, misdemeanor battery, and other misdemeanor charges tied to disrupting official state business. Her bail is set at $10,000, per sheriff's records; she'll be in court Tuesday. (More Sacramento stories.)

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