Tuscaloosans protested on Wednesday at the Richard Shelby Federal Building and Courthouse against United States Sen. Katie Britt and SNAP benefits being withheld from Alabamians during the government shutdown.
Hosted by Indivisible West Alabama, this was the third Wednesday of protesting this month.
Amy Clayton, a leadership member of Indivisible West Alabama, said that the protests were initially about SNAP and other benefits being withheld during the government shutdown, but shifted to protesting against Britt and other politicians after the government reopened. She said Britt “is part of the problem with Alabama” in references to her voting record.
“They cut SNAP in the Big Beautiful Bill, and she voted for it,” she said. “She’s not representing the state. There’s a lot of people that don’t feel like she’s representing us.”
According to the Department of Agriculture, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act of 2025 now requires “able-bodied adults without dependents” to work at least 20 hours a week to receive benefits and removed exceptions for “homeless individuals, veterans, and those 24 and younger who aged out of foster care.” The exception “based on responsibility to care for a dependent child” was also limited to those with a child under 14 years old.
Alim Thompson, a retired Navy Veteran, said he believes veterans should be “at the forefront” of protests and he disapproves of Sen. Tommy Tuberville “even more so” than Britt.
“I believe in compassion,” he said. “And right now, our government is anything but compassionate.”
According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, around 752,000 Alabamians, one in seven, benefited from SNAP in 2024.
“As citizens of the U.S., we need to come out here and show our commitment to ask our senators to do their jobs, to work for the state of Alabama and not kowtow to the current administration,” said Patty Lightfoot, a member of Indivisible West Alabama. She said that she wants Britt and other politicians to focus more on improving education and access to medical care in the state.
“She needs to be fighting harder for the state of Alabama,” Lightfoot said.
Britt has offices in Tuscaloosa and in Birmingham. Clayton said that Indivisible Birmingham holds demonstrations at Britt’s Birmingham office every Wednesday.
“Jesus was about caring about people,” Thompson said. “He fed the masses. What are we doing? Starving the masses.”
