Two buses that were transporting “hardened criminals,” according to law enforcement officers, were seized by a group of about 30 protestors as they were on a Tucson frontage road. The first bus was freed at 12:12 p.m., and the second bus was finally freed at 12:32.
A vehicle blocked the path of the two buses allowing 12 protestors to surround the buses and chain themselves to the tires. The pro-amnesty protestors wore matching bright yellow shirts marked with a “Shut Down Streamline” logo. The Department of Corrections buses were headed to Operation Streamline, a federal criminal court where detainees are tried for entering the country illegally.
The well-planned protest activities began early in the morning at both the federal court house and along the frontage road near the courthouse.
Amnesty activist and Public Defender Isabel Garcia was a leader for the group. Garcia was also a leader in the takeover of the Tucson Unified School District Governing Board meeting in the Spring of 2011, and active in the attack on Board Patrol agents and Tucson Police Department officers last week by pro-amnesty forces after an illegal alien was arrested for driving without a license.
Approximately 30 surrounded the buses, while approximately 50 protestors looked on as a group chained themselves together blocking the parking lot at the federal courthouse.
After the buses were freed, protestors made their way over to the federal courthouse to join the protest there.
According to law enforcement on the scene, at least 85 Tucson Police Department personnel were on hand at both scenes, and approximately 30 federal marshalls were on hand at the federal building. SWAT team officers were on the scene of the hostage taking.
The buses were escorted off the frontage road by Tucson Police, Border Patrol, and unmarked vehicles.
The protestors shouted, “Shut down ICE, Melt ICE” and “We are the people, We are united.”
Tucson Police Department officers arrested 17 people, including the 12 who chained themselves to the buses. Those who chained themselves to the buses will be charged with Hindering Prosecution.