Piper Perabo spent years portraying a CIA operative on Covert Affairs—but says this week was the first time she got busted in real life.
The actress, also known for her roles in Coyote Ugly and The Prestige, was among protesters who got hauled out of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh’s volatile Senate confirmation hearing on Tuesday. And she’s damn proud of it, she tells Glamour.
“I felt like this was an opportunity for me to do something and stand up for all the women who have to be at work [or] take their kid to school [or] look after their elderly parents,” she says by phone, after she paid a fine to be released. “It was a privilege to get arrested [to] speak out against this and to stand up for women’s equal rights.”
President Donald Trump’s pick to replace retired swing Justice Anthony Kennedy has galvanized protesters who say Kavanaugh’s appointment would mean a titanic lurch to the right for the Supreme Court. The conservative jurist could not only roll back the abortion protections of Roe v. Wade, they say, but turn back the clock on health care, labor, and voting rights.
Kavanaugh, in his Tuesday opening statement, told lawmakers, “I don’t decide cases based on personal or policy preferences.” He has also called Roe a matter of “settled law.” That’s scant reassurance to his critics, especially because Trump has vowed to choose pro-life judges.
So, how’d it all go down for Perabo and the other women protesters who took a day off from their responsibilities to protest?
While many watched a livestream of the hearing on televisions and electronic devices, Perabo says she showed up early to get a seat in the Senate Judiciary Committee’s hearing room. At times, she says, the protest scene got a little surreal: “I could see women who were dressed as the handmaids [with] the red cloaks and the white caps,” she recalls, referencing the dystopian Hulu series The Handmaid’s Tale, whose first season was based on the Margaret Atwood novel about women living in subjugation under a patriarchal society.
At the hearing, “We took turns standing up and saying why we were protesting, and then we were arrested,” she says. Perabo’s line: “I said [the president is an] unindicted co-conspirator in a criminal investigation, and I don’t think a president should be able to appoint judges until that’s been resolved.”
Perabo hadn’t even finished her second line before the Capitol Police had her out the door. Officers took her belongings, cuffed her, and put her in a van with other demonstrators. “I wasn’t going to resist arrest. I’d never been arrested before. I was a little nervous,” she confesses.
“They kept bringing down elevators full of women into the basement where the white vans were [to take people] to the police station,” Perabo says. “One of the cops said, ‘Aren’t there any men coming down?’ And one woman said, ‘No! It’s all women, all day.'”
Perabo says she was charged with disorderly conduct and released after paying a $35 fine: “My mom texted me, and she was like, ‘I think people are getting arrested at the hearings. Could you call me and let me know you’re OK?’ and I was like, ‘This is a weird day,” she adds. “I called her right back and [told her], ‘I did get arrested, but everything’s fine.’”
Perabo says she had the chance to fly to D.C. for the protests because she’s between acting jobs and her husband is filming in Utah. For Jennifer Epps-Addison, demonstrating also meant time apart from her spouse—on their anniversary, no less—but much more than that.
“This is really personal for me. Three years ago, my husband was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. Thank G-d for the Affordable Care Act [and] President Obama’s work,” says Epps-Addison, who’s president of the social justice group Center for Popular Democracy.
The couple had planned to take a trip together to mark their eighth anniversary. Instead, Epps-Addison ended up flying to D.C., disrupting the Kavanaugh hearing and getting “tackled pretty hard by four officers” as she was dragged out along with protesters, including Women’s March leader Linda Sarsour.
“It is life or death,” Epps-Addison, who is convinced if Kavanaugh makes it to the bench, her 40-year-old husband “will not have [the] same rights to the same quality of life that he deserves and that we have,” tells Glamour.
Heidi Sieck, founder of the civic platform #VoteProChoice, also agrees it was “absolutely” worth getting arrested to challenge Kavanaugh in defense of “reproductive freedom,” which she calls “a foundational issue” that affects “women and men and families and transgender folk” and is tied to racial and economic justice.
“There is so much to lose. And listen: I have no illusions that those men in power have every intention of winning,” Sieck told Glamour after the Senate demonstration. “They will not be deviated from their their path. [They] have the majority on their side. They have process on their side. And who are we if we don’t stand up?”
When it comes to Kavanaugh, she says, “it’s so clearly obvious that this man will roll back all of our reproductive rights” based on his past rulings.
“We did what we could to stand up and have our voices heard. I don’t know if they’re listening, but it’s one of those things that has to be done. We cannot just let this go by.”
Protesting and pressuring lawmakers can help, Perabo says, but here’s her advice: If you want real change, vote — and help others get to the polls.
“Even some simple reminder can cause more people to vote,” Perabo says. “Make sure you ask your co-worker if they’re voting, [and ask] your partner. Does an elderly neighbor need a ride? Can you watch your elderly neighbor while their kids go to vote? Let’s make it more of a conversation with our civic participation.”
The Kavanaugh hearings—and possibly the protests—continue Wednesday. Keep up with the latest on the confirmation hearings, here.
Celeste Katz is senior politics reporter for Glamour. Send news tips, questions, and comments to celeste_katz@condenast.com.
MORE: Must-See Protest Photos from Brett Kavanaugh’s Supreme Court Confirmation Hearings
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