KOSCIUSKO CO. — Three men part of an activist group marching from Milwaukee, Wisconsin to Washington D.C. were arrested on Wednesday evening in northern Indiana for disorderly conduct.
The arrest by Indiana State Police happened around 6 p.m. in Kosciusko County, on U.S. 30. According to ISP's public information officer, Sgt. Ted Bohner, the three protesters were arrested for intentionally obstructing traffic on the divided four-lane highway.
The arrest, in its entirety, was captured on a Facebook live by the group's alleged leader.
According to the livestream, drivers on the highway were throwing things at the protesters as they walked, pointed guns, and also swerved toward them. To protect the protesters, the group's caravan of about eight vehicles followed behind them. This, according to ISP, created backed-up traffic for several miles.
In the report released by ISP, U.S. 30 has a speed limit of 60 mph, and the cars driving behind the pedestrians were going at a walking speed, creating a dangerous situation.
According to Bohner, troopers told the group they could both walk and drive their vehicle on the shoulder of the highway, but not on the roadway.
"Troopers explained to the group that they were welcome to continue on with both pedestrians and vehicles traveling on the shoulder," ISP's release read. "Purportedly the group failed to comply and continued walking eastbound with eastbound traffic continuing to back up for approximately seven miles."
The group was then approached on the highway again, near County Road 900 East, where, according to ISP, the protesters were not compliant.
In the video, there is an evident confrontation between the protesters and both ISP and the Kosciusko County Sheriff's Office. Shortly after, three of the protesters are seen being apprehended by officers for misdemeanor charges of disorderly conduct and obstruction of traffic.
The march, which protesters started in hopes of bringing awareness to racial inequality and police brutality, was reportedly on its ninth day when the arrest happened.
The protesters had hoped to reach Washington, D.C., by August 28 — the day Martin Luther King Jr. gave his famous "I Have A Dream" speech in 1963.
