Lawmakers Seek Crackdown on Highway Protests

Twenty-nine protesters with the Boston contingent of "Black Lives Matter" were arrested after shutting down two sections of I-93

Some Massachusetts lawmakers are proposing getting tougher on protesters who block highways in the aftermath of a demonstration that tied up rush hour traffic on Interstate 93.

The proposals, submitted in advance of Friday's bill-filing deadline at the Statehouse, could increase fines or even lengthen jail sentences for demonstrators.

State Representative Colleen Garry, a Democrat from Dracut, was so outraged by the protesters who brought I-93 to a rush-hour standstill Thursday, that she immediately filed legislation that would amend the states attempted murder and manslaughter statutes to include "purposefully causing harm to an individual or killing an individual by blocking access to a public highway or road way."

"These people have no clue what they did yesterday. I'm sure they would do it again. So we said need to make the penalties strong enough that the message goes out to them and to anyone else who would have this idea," Gary said.

Activists protesting what they call "police and state violence against black people" attached themselves to concrete-filled barrels or chained themselves together using plastic pipes, causing miles-long backups. Grand jury decisions not to indict white police officers for the recent deaths of black men in Ferguson, Missouri, and New York City have led to protests nationwide.

Nearly 30 protesters were arrested and later arraigned on charges including trespassing, disorderly conduct, resisting arrest and willfully obstructing an emergency vehicle.

State senator Richard Ross is also filing legislation that would increase the penalties for someone trespassing on a state highway from a $50 to a $500 fine, and from 3 to 6 months in prison.

State police said an ambulance transporting a seriously injured car crash victim to a Boston hospital was forced to divert to a hospital outside the city that did not have a trauma unit. The man survived.

Governor Charlie Baker says he's a big believer in the right of people to protest, but was concerned by what played out on I-93.

He said the fact that an ambulance had to be diverted to another hospital makes him think that stronger penalties might be a good idea.

There are also those who feel the legislation goes much too far.

NAACP president Michael Curry says the protests are in the tradition of Martin Luther King, and that people should be focused on the message not the method.

"They are learning how to practice this stuff. They are learning how to have a voice. it's about disrupting lives, making people pay attention. And there were no lives lost," said Curry.

A more tempered response came from Pastor William Dickerson of the Greater Love Tabernacle.

"Everyone has a right to complain or what have you, but we must make sure that Public Safety is the utmost importance when we deal with protesting," Dickerson said.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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