Gray was arrested on Capitol Hill Monday and released early Tuesday morning. D.C. mayor arrested and released

Washington Mayor Vincent Gray and other top city officials were arrested on Capitol Hill Monday during a protest of the budget deal House Republicans cut with President Barack Obama.

Gray and six city council members were released early Tuesday morning.


A crowd of 200 to 300 gathered near the Hart Senate Office Building in opposition to a budget bill passed last week because it places new limits on the city. One measure prevents Washington from spending government funds, even local money, on abortion services.

Capitol Police say they arrested 41 protesters for unlawful assembly, “blocking passage” on Constitution Avenue near the Capitol.

Capitol Police officers, who made the arrests, also arrested City Council member Muriel Bowser and City Council Chairman Kwame R. Brown. Other city officials were arrested include council members Yvette Alexander, Tommy Wells, Michael Brown and Sekou Biddle. A Capitol Police spokesman said the department is monitoring the situation.

Protestors chanted “Free D.C.” and “We can’t take it no more.”

Tensions have run high between D.C. officials and congressional Republicans for years. The GOP has largely opposed the District’s effort to gain a full, voting member in the House. The District’s member of Congress, currently Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, a Democrat, can vote only in committee.

The Republican-sponsored abortion provision in the 2011 spending bill has won some Democratic congressional support in the past, and Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) worked feverishly to secure its inclusion this year.

The budget also includes a provision that allocates money for vouchers for low-income students to attend private schools, a project spearheaded by Boehner. Gray opposes the measure.