In the ongoing drama surrounding Alabama's efforts to use maps that the federal courts previously banned, Democrats and left-leaning activists have continually levied the accusation of racism against the Republican supermajority legislature.
The rhetoric boiled over during last week's special session, when police and state house security were forced to intervene with protesters in the House viewing gallery, causing the legislative body to recess until peace had been restored.
Several Democratic lawmakers joined the protesters in the gallery, spoke with them, and even confronted police and security.
WATCH: Chaos erupts in Alabama State House as lawmakers push police, security in House gallery
Throughout the week, Democratic lawmakers on the state and federal level accused Republican lawmakers of trying to stymie the black vote, remove black representation, reinstall Jim Crow laws and more.
Now that the U.S. Supreme Court has removed the injunctions against the state's congressional and state senate maps, the rhetoric has not calmed down.
Recently, State Rep. Juandalynn Givan (D-Birmingham), who was at the forefront of lawmakers' conflict with law enforcement, called the legislature's action "plantation politics."
In addition, state and national leaders, fueled by driveling speculation from some Alabama commentators, have used an immediately clarified misstatement by House Speaker Nathaniel Ledbetter (R-Rainsville) to accuse the speaker of trying to appeal the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
Following the session, Ledbetter denounced the accusations of racism and antics from across the aisle, stating it was hypocritical in light of Republicans' response when the federal court-mandated map in 2024 turned a red seat blue.
"I think that's ridiculous," Ledbetter said. "What about when we had it overturned, and the Republicans lost it in court? We didn't riot. We didn't protest. We did what we thought was dealing in a professional manner. And to have that kind of a statement is absolutely ridiculous."
Ledbetter chalked up the protesters' rowdy behavior throughout the session to a concerted effort to stir up trouble.
"They're busing these people in buses," Ledbetter stated. "Probably these people is not even from Alabama. They did it intentionally to try to get attention, and my thing was, I wasn't going to stay in the chamber and let them get the attention that they wanted. We want to be professionals in the chamber."
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