Protesters rage in Washington as Kavanaugh is confirmed
Protesters have swarmed Washington, and rushed the steps of the Supreme Court to bang loudly on its bronze doors around the time controversial Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh was set to be sworn in inside.
Hundreds of people chanted and waved anti-Kavanaugh placards as dozens of officers pushed them back from the doors and then stood guard.
After a week of deep anxiety in Washington and nationwide, tensions surged about Kavanaugh, who stands accused of sexual misconduct.
Several hundred protesters, most of them women, barged through barricades to lay claim to the front steps of the US Capitol.
Dozens were arrested as they and others chanted "Vote them out!" and "No justice, no seat!"
Protesters also disrupted the vote itself in the US Senate multiple times before being dragged from the public galleries, yelling "Coward!" at lawmakers who backed Kavanaugh.
When Vice President Mike Pence, who presided over the vote, exited the Senate, he was loudly booed and heckled by onlookers outside until he ducked into his limousine.
The confirmation of Kavanaugh has come in the midst of the #MeToo movement that has put sexual assault squarely in a cultural crosshairs.