Rev. William Barber II arrested by US Capitol Police for praying 'out loud' in Rotunda after 'multiple warnings'

A story circulating online in late April 2025 claimed U.S. Capitol police officers arrested the Rev. William Barber II, a civil rights activist and ordained minister in the Disciples of Christ denomination, for praying inside the Capitol Rotunda in Washington.

For example, Jack Jenkins, a national reporter for Religion News Service, posted (archived) pictures on X showing Capitol police officers standing near Barber and other people inside the Rotunda. The post read: "BREAKING: Police just surrounded Rev. William Barber, prominent activist and pastor, as he and others prayed in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda. Police then expelled everyone (including press) to (presumably) arrest them. Covered protests here a lot. Never seen anything like it." 

Many other social media users also posted about the story.

(@jackmjenkins/X)

Several Snopes readers asked questions about this matter via email, including, for example, "Was Rev. Dr. William Barber arrested for praying?" as well as, "Was Rev. William Barber really arrested in the Capitol Rotunda for praying against the Republican budget?"

A Capitol police spokesperson confirmed to Snopes that this story was true, saying that on April 28, their officers arrested Barber and two other individuals after "multiple warnings" for praying "out loud," including praying in unison as a group, inside the Rotunda. 

Police described their act of prayer — one focused on opposition to the Republican-proposed budget bill — as "demonstrating." The rest of the police statement, featured below in this article, included details about the law they alleged the three individuals violated.

The group prayer took place as part of an organized event called "Moral Monday." Repairers of the Breach, Barber's North Carolina-based, social justice-focused national nonprofit organization, arranged the gathering. The organization's Facebook page hosted a flyer (archived) calling the event "a stand against injustice," as well as a brief, edited video — described later in this article — showing several moments prior to the arrests, including officers clearing all members of the public and anyone identifying themselves as press from the Rotunda.

A representative for Repairers of the Breach had not yet responded to several emailed questions as of this writing. The organization did, however, post (archived) on X a statement in a thread of posts, beginning with the text from the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. It reads: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances." 

The organization's statement read, in part: "When prayer and peaceful petition are met with arrest, it shows how much work remains to build a true democracy."

The thread identified the other two arrested individuals as the Rev. Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove and Steve Swayne. Wilson-Hartgrove describes himself on his website as a spiritual writer, preacher and community cultivator, as well as an assistant director for partnerships and fellowships at Yale University's Center for Public Theology and Public Policy. Following the arrests, he appeared in a video interview posted on X. Swayne serves as the director of the St. Francis Springs Prayer Center.

Capitol police statement

In an emailed response to Snopes dated April 30, a Capitol police spokesperson said "yes" in response to a request to confirm the arrests. The statement read: 

Three people were arrested for demonstrating inside the Congressional Buildings, which is not allowed in any form, to include but not limited to sitting, kneeling, group praying, singing, chanting, etc. In this case, they started praying quietly and then began to pray out loud. That is when we gave them multiple warnings to stop or they would be arrested. Three people didn't stop.

The spokesperson cited a charge against the three individuals from the Code of the District of Columbia: "§ 22–1307. Crowding, obstructing, or incommoding." The charge carries a maximum fine of $500. "Basically, they just have to pay a ticket," they said, adding, "There are other spots on Capitol grounds where this type of demonstrating is allowed." The Capitol Police website hosts a map (archived) of demonstration permit areas. Another page provides information about applying for a permit.

According to the statement, the Rotunda "quickly reopened," and they only "very briefly restricted" the space during the arrests.

Video shows moments leading to Barber's arrest

A brief, edited video hosted on the Repairers of the Breach Facebook page featured Barber wearing a clergy stole imprinted with the words, "Jesus was a poor man." The clip's caption read, "Today, as clergy - including Bishop William J. Barber, II - and people of moral conscience respectfully prayed in the rotunda of the United States Capitol, they were arrested while the public and cameras, including those belonging to press outlets, were banned from the area."

In the video clip, which only showed short segments of the prayer, Barber prayed: "We are here crying to you, oh God, because we've heard the cries of your people." The video then cut to Wilson-Hartgrove, who recited from a piece of paper, "We have also read the budget resolution of this Congress, which calls for $1.5 trillion in cuts to life-saving and life-sustaining programs in order to give a tax break to billionaires." Swayne, also reading from a piece of paper, said, "Deliver us, oh Lord, from the deceptive lie that says our nation will be better off if those who have little get less, and those who have too much get more."

After Barber and the others each spoke about the Republican budget bill during the group prayer, they and other unidentified individuals all recited together, "Against the conspiracy of cruelty, we plead the power of your mercy."

A uniformed man identifying himself as a captain with the Capitol Police then informed the group, "Right now, you're participating in an unlawful demonstration. If you don't cease and desist the activity, you are subject to arrest." The video showed other officers also warning the group, including unidentified people recording videos, telling them they may be arrested if they did not exit the Rotunda.

One unidentified officer said, "It doesn't matter if you're press." The clip showed that same officer moments later informing another officer, "They're not allowed in there right now. The press isn't allowed in."

An article from Religion News Service, authored by Jenkins, featured an interview with Barber conducted after the arrests, reporting the praying lasted for around 15 minutes, as well as the fact that Barber called his interactions with Capitol police officers "cordial."

According to Bing, DuckDuckGo and Google, the incident followed arrests of Barber in past years also pertaining to demonstrations. In one of Barber's more prominent national appearances, he delivered the homily during an interfaith Presidential Inaugural Prayer Service hosted by Washington National Cathedral following former U.S. President Joe Biden's inauguration in January 2021.