Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) unwittingly gave women a new rallying cry when he silenced Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) on Tuesday night.

“She was warned. She was given an explanation,” he said. “Nevertheless, she persisted.”

#ShePersisted almost immediately began trending on Twitter.

Warren had been attempting to read a letter written in 1986 by the late Coretta Scott King ― civil rights hero and widow of Martin Luther King Jr. ― that criticized Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), then a U.S. attorney who had been nominated for a federal judgeship.

McConnell invoked Rule XIX, which said: “No Senator in debate shall, directly or indirectly, by any form of words impute to another Senator or to other Senators any conduct or motive unworthy or unbecoming a Senator.” King’s letter argued that, during Sessions’ time as a prosecutor in Alabama, he “used the awesome power of his office to chill the free exercise of the vote by black citizens.”

Warren is now forbidden from speaking on the Senate floor as the body considers Sessions’ nomination for U.S. attorney general. But social media has been anything but silent as #ShePersisted became the new call to arms.

Here’s a sampling:

'Nevertheless, she persisted.' It's so poetic. — rosanne cash (@rosannecash) February 8, 2017

"Nevertheless, she persisted" is likely showing up on a lot of protest signs this weekend. https://t.co/dbA1UaqwUU — Rebecca Traister (@rtraister) February 8, 2017

"Nevertheless, she persisted." Mitch McConnell just gave Elizabeth Warren the title of her autobiography, if not a line of T-shirts. — David Simon (@AoDespair) February 8, 2017

"Nevertheless, she persisted" may be my first tattoo. — Alex Beech (@alexbeech) February 8, 2017

"She was warned. She was given an explanation. Nevertheless, #shepersisted."



Marsha P. Johnson & Sylvia Rivera pic.twitter.com/AY5bPtXBUi — Renee Bracey Sherman (@RBraceySherman) February 8, 2017

Know who else was warned & given an explanation, yet persisted? Rosa Parks. Susan B Anthony. Harriet Tubman. Malala Yousafzai. #shepersisted — Emily Clasper (@eclasper) February 8, 2017

Let's slow the beat down:



Mitch McConnell

Told an elected woman

Reading Corretta Scott King

To shut up

And take a seat.#ShePersisted — Tom Watson (@tomwatson) February 8, 2017

She was warned. She was given an explanation. Nevertheless, she persisted. pic.twitter.com/ebXJRX23Re — Marc (@MarcSnetiker) February 8, 2017

"Nevertheless she persisted" is the contemptible lament of every old white man who has tried and failed to silence an indomitable woman. — Melissa McEwan (@Shakestweetz) February 8, 2017

Does Mitch McConnell understand that "Nevertheless she persisted" is now a rallying cry? That he unwittingly has strengthened our resolve? — Leslie Grossman (@MissLeslieG) February 8, 2017

#ShePersisted is the best hashtag of all time. Nice work, McGoblin — Ben Basche (@basche42) February 8, 2017

She was warned. She was given an explanation Nevertheless #shepersisted. pic.twitter.com/clyawulaPI — Oliver Willis (@owillis) February 8, 2017

"She was warned. She was given an explanation. Nevertheless she persisted."

Straight out of the domestic violence handbook. #letlizspeak — Zac (@mrv3rtig0) February 8, 2017

"She was warned. She was given an explanation. Nevertheless, she persisted " is basically the story of all female progress through history — Camila Londono (@drClondono) February 8, 2017

Meet my fists. She & Persisted. — Laurie Crosswell 🌞 (@lauriecrosswell) February 8, 2017

She was warned. She was given an explanation Nevertheless #shepersisted. pic.twitter.com/kMoe8Has4h — Marionstein (@Marionstein) February 8, 2017

Is the irony of silencing #Warren for reading MLK's wife's letter during black history month wholly lost on R's? #LetLizSpeak #ShePersisted — Brianna Nichols (@briannanichols) February 8, 2017

"Well behaved women seldom make history" #ShePersisted — Jordan Callaghan (@JordanCallagh10) February 8, 2017

She was warned. She was given an explanation. Nevertheless #shepersisted pic.twitter.com/kyUytu3mDU — Wendy Willis (@zaythar) February 8, 2017

.@SenateMajLdr will regret the words he used tonight. #shepersisted — Lexa O (@LEXpressions) February 8, 2017

Coretta Scott King: patron saint of the secular order of Sisters of Perpetual Persistence! #ShePersisted https://t.co/YnpW7DpTRc — Jen Bekman (@jenbee) February 8, 2017

* the sound of a million women updating their Twitter bios to read, "Nevertheless, she persisted" * — Catherine Andrews (@candrews) February 8, 2017

She persisted. Tearing me up. Twitter you can be so beautiful. ✌️ — Leslie Liberatore (@hotskillet) February 8, 2017

'Nevertheless she persisted' - a new badge of honour for bloody difficult women everywhere. — Angela Patrick (@Angela__Patrick) February 8, 2017

#shepersisted is the story of women. — Matthew Panzarino (@panzer) February 8, 2017

"Nevertheless, she persisted." Please let this also be my life's legacy. — Olivia M (@oliviawithheart) February 8, 2017

She was warned. She was given an explanation, and nevertheless #shepersisted. pic.twitter.com/CvgXojrqVS — James B. Webb (@BrainRage) February 8, 2017

"NEVERTHELESS, SHE PERSISTED." -- every woman's epitaph now — Emily Mitchell (@emilyreads) February 8, 2017

BRB gonna live my life so NEVERTHELESS, SHE PERSISTED is engraved on my tombstone https://t.co/EK4VJKU9VW — Alisha Rai (@AlishaRai) February 8, 2017

She was warned. She was given an explanation. Nevertheless #shepersisted. pic.twitter.com/pdCESkl873 — Nyasha Junior (@NyashaJunior) February 8, 2017