Father of slain Parkland student Joaquin Oliver arrested during House subcommittee hearing on gun rights
WASHINGTON -- The parents of a student who was gunned down at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School had a run in Thursday with U.S. Capitol police during an outburst at a Congressional hearing about gun violence.
Manuel Oliver, the father of Joaquin Oliver, was pinned to the floor and handcuffed before he was taken into custody while bystanders demanded that the officers stop the arrest.
His wife, Patricia Oliver, was also removed from the hearing by police.
It was not immediately clear if police planned to file charges against the Oliver.
Joaquin Oliver was 17 years old when he was killed by a mass shooter at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School on Valentine's Day in 2018.
His parents were attending a meeting of a subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee called "ATF's Assault on the Second Amendment."
Capitol police said Manuel Oliver was arrested after he disrupted the hearing before attempting to re-enter the hearing room. Reuters said he was given a citation arrest, which meant he would not face jail time.
At some point, the encounter turned violent with police officers who ended up physically restraining Manuel Oliver.
"They threw me to the floor, and they handcuffed me and took me to a local office -- jail," Manuel Oliver said during a news conference about the incident.
He's not violent! He's not violent!" one of the bystanders yelled at police.
"What are you doing to this man? He's a grieving father," another bystander said.
The Olivers denied being disruptive and say it's not the arrest that bothers them.
Manuel Oliver says he reached his boiling point after a speaker argued that stricter gun restrictions would not curb violence.
"Every year, we have more and more people dying because of gun violence, but not only I know it, we all know it. He knows it, I know it," he said. "The difference is, I'm not going to lose an election. I lost a son."
