TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Latest on protest in favor of Medicaid expansion at the Kansas Statehouse (all times local):
5:20 p.m.
Capitol Police have banned three Kansas State University students from the Statehouse for a year for participating in the hanging of huge banners favoring Medicaid expansion inside.
Four banners hung briefly from the fifth floor rotunda. They criticized Republican legislative leaders who oppose Medicaid expansion by name and said they have “blood on their hands.”
A legislative policy requires protesters to obtain permission in advance to bring banners into the Statehouse. Legislative Administrative Services Director Tom Day removed them within minutes.
Officer Scott Whitsell said he imposed the yearlong ban because of the policy violation. The banned students are Jonathan Cole, Nate Faflick and Katie Sullivan.
Sullivan questioned whether the ban is legal. But Whitsell if the students return within a year, they face being cited for criminal trespassing.
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TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Supporters of expanding Medicaid in Kansas have briefly hung huge banners inside the Statehouse criticizing Republican legislative leaders who oppose the idea.
“Blood on their hands” banners drop in the Statehouse naming Kansas Senate President Wagle and Majority Leader Denning who are blocking over 100,000 Kansans from healthcare access #ExpandMedicaid pic.twitter.com/FpAnamSzTt
— Davis Hammet (@Davis_Hammet) March 27, 2019
The four banners hung Wednesday from the fifth floor railings of the rotunda said GOP leaders have “blood on their hands” for blocking Medicaid health coverage for up to 150,000 more Kansas residents.
Protester Thea Perry said such coverage would be life-saving for some individuals. House Majority Leader and Wichita Republican Dan Hawkins dismissed the banners as “ridiculous.”
The House approved a modified version of Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly’s expansion plan last week over GOP leaders’ objections. The Senate has yet to consider it.
Legislative Administrative Services Director Tom Day took the banners down within minutes. He said legislative rules require prior permission to hang banners.