Manuel Oliver, the father of a Parkland shooting victim, was arrested Thursday in Washington D.C. after he and his wife were removed from a hearing on gun regulations held by the House Judiciary Committee.
Cell phone video from inside the hearing shows Oliver and his wife Patricia shouting at a Republican lawmaker who then asked for them to be removed.
The hearing, titled “ATF’s Assault on the Second Amendment: When is Enough Enough?” elicited a spirited debate over gun deaths and firearm regulations, according to NBC News.
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Video of the arrest shows outraged witnesses chanting "He is non-violent!" at the three officers arresting Oliver.
"Americans should hear what is happening in these meetings and how they are handling the truth," Oliver said in a news conference after his arrest.
In a statement to NBC News, U.S. Capitol Police said Oliver was arrested for D.C. Code §22-1307 (crowding, obstructing, or incommoding) after he "disrupted" the hearing.
"This is a citation release arrest, which means the man was not put in jail," the statement said. "It should be noted that a woman who also disrupted the hearing was not arrested because she followed the lawful directions of our officers."
One of the arresting officers repeatedly told Oliver's wife Patricia to step back as she asked them to let her husband go.
"This is my first amendment right," she said. "I have the right to say whatever."
Manuel and Patricia lost their 17-year-old son Joaquin Oliver in the 2018 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland.
MANUEL OLIVER
Rep. Maxwell Alejandro Frost, D-Fla., a 26-year-old freshman who is also a survivor of gun violence, tweeted about the incident, calling Oliver "a hero."
Frost tweeted that Patricia spoke at the hearing and "the chair escalated the entire situation," referring to Republican Rep. Pat Fallon.
