29 Arrested After I-93 Protest In Boston

State police say 29 protesters are facing charges for creating traffic gridlock this morning when they blocked major highway access into Boston from the north and the south.

Activists with their arms inside 55-gallon barrels filled with concrete stopped traffic on I-93 southbound in Medford and I-93 northbound in Milton.

Protesters say their goal was to "disrupt business as usual" and criticize police violence against black people.

Massachusetts State Police Colonel Tim Alben calls protesters who blocked I-93 this morning "immature, irresponsible, and reckless."  He says they put lives at risk when they blocked traffic on I-93.

Alben notes that an ambulance with a crash victim had to be diverted to a smaller hospital rather than a Level One trauma hospital in Boston because of the traffic gridlock.

He says police understand and respect First Amendment rights, but he says blocking a highway endangers lives. (Metro Network Inc.)