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14 Ferguson Activists Arrested After Demonstration Shuts Down Transbay BART

OAKLAND (CBS SF) -- BART trains are running through the Transbay Tube again Friday afternoon after a group of activists protesting the Ferguson grand jury decision were arrested for halting BART service at the West Oakland station.

BART police arrested 14 protesters who chained themselves to trains on both sides of the West Oakland station shortly after 10:30 a.m., preventing any trains from traveling through the station for more than hour.

BART Black Friday protests 2014
Activists locked arms during a protest at the West Oakland BART station, November 28, 2015. (Julia Carrie Wong)
julia carrie wong bart rally firefighter
Firefighters enter station with large saw and bolt cutter. (Julia Carrie Wong)
julia carrie wong bart rally arrest
(Julia Carrie Wong)

Shortly before 1 p.m., BART reopened the West Oakland station.

During the disruption, AC Transit honored BART tickets for passengers at the Transbay terminal, which offers O and NL buses to shuttle passengers between San Francisco and West Oakland. A BART bus bridge had also been set up from Oakland to San Francisco.

KCBS reports the activists, who were wearing "Black Lives Matter" T-shirts, intended to keep the West Oakland station shut down for at least four hours to symbolize the 4.5 hours Michael Brown's body had reportedly been left in the street after he was shot by Ferguson officer Darren Wilson.

FERGUSON REACTION: Complete Coverage

Numerous posts on Twitter linked the protest to #BlackoutBlack Friday, a nationwide campaign meant to bring attention to the August fatal shooting of 18-year-old Michael Brown and a grand jury's decision earlier this week not to indict the police officer who killed him.

 

TM and © Copyright 2014 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2014 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Bay City News Service contributed to this report.

 

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