Legal Insurrection has long followed the disruptive antics of Extinction Rebellion, a UK-based group of environmental extremists.
The last time we checked on the group, the climate cultists vowed to send ‘millions of people onto the streets’ in defiance of a British crackdown on disruptive ‘guerrilla protests. ‘
Noe 15 members were arrested Wednesday as they attempted to block morning rush hour traffic in Boston.
The environmental group Extinction Rebellion said it had planned to block four major traffic routes 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 claimed 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.”Massachusetts State Police told WBZ they had a “detailed operations plan in place” and were “prepared to take enforcement action if necessary.” According to WBZ-TV’s Breana Pitts, drivers said troopers were set up at almost every exit on Route 128 from Rockport to Reading and on Interstate 93 into Somerville.
The Boston Herald published the names and ages of those arrested. I see very few college-age activists in this group.
Boston police spokesperson this morning said cops made 10 arrests related to the traffic disruptions. Further information about the arrests would be available later. Those arrested are:Perry Thomas KRASOW, 62, Waltham Disorderly ConductNicholas Gardner BRYANT, 32, Boston Disorderly ConductAllen Patrick MCGONAGILL, 32, Somerville Disorderly ConductAndrew Reginald ILIFF, 41, Jamaica Plain Disorderly ConductPaul SHANNON, 75, Somerville Disorderly ConductMaria Luisa OGDEN, 60, Putney, VT VAL Failure to SubmitBenjamin Standish HAYWARD, 24, Castleton VT Disorderly ConductSamantha HAYWARD, 23, Castleton VT Disorderly ConductJohn Reynolds BURKHARDT, 56, Arlington Disorderly ConductWilliam Christopher REGAN, 43, Redondo Beach, CA Disorderly ConductState police, meanwhile, said they had taken five into custody at Leverett Circle.Arrested and charged by state police were Joseph Rogers, 55, Lyndeborough, N.H., Grant F. Rockett, 64, of Jamaica Plain, Mark A. Dugan, 54, of Newton, Jennifer M. Smith, 48, of Watertown and Mary E. Hansen, 67, of Jamaica Plain.The protesters each face charges of trespassing on state property, disorderly conduct, and conspiracy to commit a crime.
The amount of pre-planning that went into the event suggests serious funding That is disturbing.
Troopers also seized two vehicles that the trespassers had parked in two separate travel lanes to block traffic at the busy intersection, police said. One of those vehicles was carrying three 55-gallon steel drum barrels with holes cut into them and pipes running through the holes, a device known as a “sleeping dragon.”A “sleeping dragon” is an improvised device made by protestors to secure themselves together, with their arms fed through a pipe or tube that runs through barrels through holes cut into them. Generally, a protesters hands are then locked to the hands of those next to them inside the barrels, to form a roadblock consisting of a connected series of protestors and barrels.Police said the seizure of the “sleeping dragons” prevented the protestors from chaining themselves together in the devices to block traffic at the busy intersection, which is used by motorists connecting to and from the Tobin Bridge, Interstate 93, Storrow Drive, Nashua Street and Charles River Dam Road.
If you think the city’s government is inclined to reign in the climate insanity, think again. Boston Mayor Michelle marched with the group in 2019.
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu tweeted in 2019 when she was a city council member that she marched with Extinction Rebellion Boston, the group that stopped traffic on the morning commute Wednesday to protest climate change.When asked about their most recent protest, Wu wouldn’t say whether she supported their tactics. She did say she heard the urgency of the protesters, but also places a high priority on public safety.
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