Sexual assault survivors confronted a visibly uncomfortable Jeff Flake on his way to vote for Kavanaugh

Shortly after Arizona GOP Sen. Jeff Flake announced he intends to vote to confirm Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court, he got a very personal appeal not to confirm: On his way to the Senate Judiciary Committee meeting ahead of its vote Friday morning, two sexual assault survivors confronted Flake as he stepped onto an elevator — and the conversation was caught on live TV.

“What you are doing is allowing someone who actually violated a woman to sit on the Supreme Court,” one protester said to Flake. “This is not tolerable. You have children in your family. Think about them. I have two children.”

Flake, who was visibly uncomfortable during the confrontation, stared at the ground.

“Look at me when I’m talking to you,” another protester said, through tears. “You are telling me that my assault doesn’t matter, that what happened to me doesn’t, and that you’re going to let people who do these things into power. That’s what you’re telling me when you vote for him. Don’t look away from me.”

The only response that Flake could come up with was: “Thank you” and “I need to go to the hearing.” He told a reporter present at the confrontation that he would be saying more later.

The confrontation came a day after Christine Blasey Ford testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee that Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her at a small gathering at a Maryland home in the summer of 1982, when they were both teenagers.

She’s one of three women who have publicly accused Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct. Ford sat through hours of questioning before the Senate Judiciary Committee in which she emotionally detailed her allegations that Kavanaugh had groped her and attempted to rape her. The Senate Judiciary Committee is expected to vote in favor of Kavanaugh, which will send a vote for his lifetime appointment to the Supreme Court to the Senate floor.