Back in February, Kai Newkirk interrupted arguments before the Supreme Court to protest the power of money in politics. Because no one had disrupted the court's oral arguments in seven years, the recording of his actions went viral.
Newkirk, who was sentenced to time served for the disruption this week, stopped by HuffPost Live to discuss what he's been up to since.
Asked about the Supreme Court's ruling in McCutcheon v. Federal Election Commission, which came after his protest, Newkirk said he "wasn't surprised but it was very disappointing. ... When the Supreme Court is elevating the voice of corporations and billionaires to the point where the voices of everyday Americans can barely be heard anymore, it really is a betrayal of that legacy."
Besides the one night Newkirk ended up spending in jail, he has been barred from the Supreme Court grounds for a year.
But "that's not really important," he said. "The purpose of the action wasn't to change their mind on McCutcheon. It was to shine a spotlight on the shameful role they played in deepening corruption in our country and to inspire other Americans ... to get off the sidelines, to take an action to do something to defend our democracy."
"Spending a night in jail was a small price to pay" to encourage others to act, he said.
The goal, according to Newkirk, is constitutional reform.
"We need a constitutional amendment that establishes that money is not First Amendment-protected political speech, that corporations don't have the rights of actual persons, that Congress can regulate and prohibit private money in public elections."
Watch his interview above.
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