What Happened Inside Sen. Flake's Head?

Did two women just affect the course of Supreme Court history? One of the women who angrily confronted Sen. Jeff Flake outside an elevator Thursday—perhaps influencing him to demand an FBI investigation into sexual-assault claims against Brett Kavanaugh—says they did alter things. "His reaction shows the power that we have, together, when we chose to tell our stories and stand up for our vision of an inclusive society," writes Ana María Archila in USA Today. "When we take action, we breathe new life and possibility into our democracy." Archila, 39, had kept the story of her childhood sexual assault mostly secret until telling it outside Flake's office earlier in the week. Her colleague, Maria Gallagher, 23, revealed her assault story for the first time ever at the elevator. For more:

• The call: Even Gallagher's mother didn't know about the assault, the Daily Beast reports. Her mother called right after seeing the exchange on cable. "This won't be an easy conversation," said Gallagher as she took the call outside.

• "I'm so sorry": Archila says she had a similar experience when her father messaged her after the encounter, the New York Times reports. The message: "I'm so sorry for not being able to protect you."
• "A hero": "Both of us were just enraged," Archila says on CNN's Anderson Cooper 360, per CNN. "I wanted [Flake] to be a hero."
• "Righteous indignation": Archila and Gallagher brought "righteous indignation, of behalf of their daughters and the other daughters and mothers across the country whose experiences Kavanaugh’s confirmation would invalidate," writes Molly Roberts at the Washington Post. Roberts adds that "it looked an awful lot like it was those two women's shouts that got him to change his mind."
• "Thrilling": "It was thrilling to watch, not because a senator was being put on the spot but because this is what it means for citizens to hold power to account," writes Jill Abramson at the Guardian. "Anyone needing a lesson in how American democracy should work must watch the elevator video."
• Passion: Who are Archila and Gallagher? Archila is an executive director of the Center for Popular Democracy, a liberal group, per Times. A group spokeswoman tells the Miami Herald that Gallagher was "just a passionate person."

(More US Supreme Court stories.)