Documents Show Todd Akin Arrested Eight Times For Protests

Republican Senate candidate Todd Akin has been arrested at least eight times for taking part in protests against abortion clinics — but only four of those arrests have been made public before.

New records show that the Missouri Senate hopeful has been arrested eight times since the 1980s, reports The Christian Post. All of these arrests were for trespassing and/or disturbing the peace during protests outside abortion clinics in both Illinois and Missouri.

His arrests were not discovered before, because they were under his first name, William, instead of Todd. He stopped going by William after he started his political career in the late 1980s.

Todd Akin has always been a pro-life supporter and acknowledged he had been arrested in the past during a pastor’s briefing last year. Akin stated:

“Yesterday I spoke with a group of people who had been to jail with me. Don’t tell anybody I’m a jailbird, but there were a bunch of us years ago that were involved in the pro-life movement.”

He was questioned about the arrest later and stated that the arrests were for standing up for his beliefs. The Huffington Post notes that Missouri Republican stated when he was asked about the arrests:

“Yeah, well, certainly. Probably about 25 years ago or so I was involved in some peaceful protests. As I’ve made very clear I don’t apologize for being pro-life. I stand up for the things I believe in.”

Todd Akin’s views on abortion are well-known, especially after his controversial statements in August, where he said he believes that women who are victims of “legitimate rape” can physically stop themselves from getting pregnant. The comment was widely ridiculed by politicians from both sides, medical professionals, and rape victims.

In the Republican politician’s race against Democratic Senator Claire McCaskill, Akin is currently 7.5 percentage points behind in polls.

Do you think Todd Akin’s eight arrests will affect the senate race in Missouri?