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SEATTLE (KIRO/CBS Newspath) — Twelve people were arrested after “BLM” was spray painted on an interstate and the highway was blocked Monday in Seattle.
Northbound I-5 near Yesler Way is Seattle was shut down while Washington State Patrol removed protesters blocking lanes, officials said.
The incident began around 12:30 p.m. PT. The group got onto the freeway and blocked the collector-distributor lanes near Yesler Way.
In video from the scene, the group of people sat with their arms interlocked in a line across all northbound lanes of the highway.
A tweet from Trooper Rick Johnson said that Washington State Patrol was responding and will be arresting the people blocking the freeway.
The initials BLM, which typically is the abbreviation used for Black Lives Matter, was seen painted on the highway. “Demand Justice” was also written on the highway under BLM.
Some people were also seen in the video with signs on a nearby overpass. The crowd on the overpass became much larger as arrests were made.
KIRO-TV reported that two cars were also impounded.