Pro-choicer who profanes God and resists troopers is arrested for refusing to leave #Texas Senate chamber

Video shows two troopers surrounding Martha Northington as she sits in the gallery. One of the officers approaches from behind and yanks Northington’s arm to bring her to her feet.

“You’re hurting me!” she shouts.

According to The Examiner, Northington’s charges were reduced from the felony category to a Class A and C misdemeanor. She insists that she was only encouraging others to be quiet during the Senate’s proceedings when she was approached by the officer, handcuffed, and removed from the Capitol building.

The 74-year-old woman was jailed overnight. Additionally, another female was arrested for public intoxication, and a male was arrested on a disorderly conduct charge.

A spokesperson for the officers who were involved with the Northington incident insisted, via an email to the Texas Tribune, that the officers’ measures were “actions they deemed appropriate” in dealing with a protester.

But the Texas Tribune reported it this way: Despite liberal bloggers’ criticism of officers who arrested her Tuesday night at the Capitol during the Senate debate over abortion legislation, 74-year-old Martha Northington said the Texas Department of Public Safety troopers overall were not too rough.

Northington, one of three people who were arrested that night, said DPS officers did not overstep their bounds, adding that they “in general have a hard time doing their duty.”

“In general, the people I watched were fairly gentle,” she said.

Northington said an officer pulled her out of her seat in the gallery soon after spectators erupted in reaction to a statement made by state Sen. Leticia Van de Putte, D-San Antonio. She said he twisted her arm, despite her offers to leave with him.