BOSTON – At least five people were taken into custody by Massachusetts State Police, as protesters attempted to block rush hour traffic in the Boston area Wednesday morning.
The environmental group Extinction Rebellion claims it plans to block four major traffic routes around the city to protest fossil fuels.
“Locations were selected to clog the Central Artery of Boston to prevent employees from getting into the financial district and Seaport,” the group said in a statement Wednesday.
They said more than 40 activists would be involved, “locking themselves to large pink metal barrels adorned with banners on top that read the messages of their demands to halt new fossil fuel infrastructure.”
They planned to block drivers coming into Boston from “the Seaport, I-90E, and the offramp of I-93S into downtown Boston.”
Check: MassDOT traffic cameras
Massachusetts State Police told WBZ they “have a detailed operations plan in place and are prepared to take enforcement action if necessary.”
“We are monitoring protestors who have announced plans to block traffic this morning. A short time ago we took five of them into custody on the ramp from Leverett Circle to Route 93 in Boston. We continue to monitor potential protest activity throughout Greater Boston,” State Police tweeted just after 7 a.m.
According to WBZ-TV’s Breana Pitts, drivers are saying troopers have set up at almost every exit on Route 128 from Rockport to Reading and on Interstate 93 into Somerville.
A small group also came to Post Office Square in Boston, saying they planned to march toward the Seaport as part of the protest.
