I noticed this fascinating tidbit by way of the New York Times today.  Evidently, a group protesting the Citizens United ruling snuck a camera into the Court for oral argument in McCutcheon v. FEC.

The group claiming responsibility for the videos, linked here, and embedded below, is called 99rise.  According to the NYT, this group “wants to ‘reclaim our democracy from the dominance of big money.’”

From the NYT article:

The videos, which are brief and shaky, represent a major breach of Supreme Court security. Visitors to the courtroom pass through metal detectors and are told they may not bring electronic devices into the courtroom. The court has never allowed camera coverage of its proceedings.

Kathleen Arberg, a spokeswoman for the court, said officials there were looking into the matter. “The court became aware today of the video posted on YouTube,” she said. “Court officials are in the process of reviewing the video and our courtroom screening procedures.”

You can read the NYT article here.

From HuffPo:

99Rise co-founder Kai Newkirk joined HuffPost Live Friday to discuss his role in the first disruption of a Supreme Court argument session in more than seven years. Newkirk was mum on the details of how his group got a camera into the proceedings, claiming that they “just walked in.”

He was escorted out of the courtroom and spent a night in jail for his role in the disturbance, calling it a “small price to pay for freedom.”

“The Supreme Court has played a huge role in deepening the corruption of our democracy,” Newkirk said, citing the Citizens United decision and McCutcheon v. FEC case. “We wanted to show the court and, more importantly, the people of our country that we’re not going to sit silently.”