Climate Change Activists Arrested Outside Houston Home Of Senator Ted Cruz
HOUSTON (CBSDFW.COM/CNN) — A group of climate change activists were arrested outside the Houston home of Senator Ted Cruz.
The eight individuals taken into custody were part of a larger group of dozens of protesters — all part of the Sunrise Movement — that had marched 400 miles from New Orleans to raise awareness on the effects of climate change.
Houston Assistant Police Chief Ban Tien said the majority of protestors were peaceful, obeyed instructions from authorities and freely expressed their First Amendment rights to protest. But Tien said, "Unfortunately, there was a small group who were actually trespassing on private property in front of the senator's residence."
Police say those arrested had been warned a number of times to stay on the sidewalk and not go near Cruz's home, but they refused.
A journalist with the Texas Tribune reported that the group was protesting to demand President Biden stop negotiations with the GOP and pass Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's "civilian climate corps plan."
Protestor Joshua Miguel Benitez said, "We're drawing our line in the sand and we're asking Democrats, were asking Joe Biden, who do you want to negotiate with? The people that elected you like us, or the people who have done everything they can to subvert democracy, climate deniers who would leave to freeze, to flood, have our lives on the negotiations table."
Cruz's office has not commented on the incident.