Climate Protesters Arrested Outside Ted Cruz’s Home

Climate change protesters were arrested for demonstrating on Republican Texas Senator Ted Cruz’s property, Houston Police announced Monday evening.

Eight out of the 60 to 70 protesters were taken into custody for trespassing on Cruz’s property, Houston Police said in a video posted to Twitter.

“The large majority of the group are extremely peaceful out there expressing the First Amendment rights to protest against climate change,” Assistant Houston Police Chief Ban Tien said in the video.

The arrested protesters refused to leave Sen. Cruz’s property and “chose to be arrested” after being warned by the police, Tien said.

The police warned the trespassing protesters multiple times, but they “still refused to leave and we finally gave one final warning and those individuals still refused to leave,” Tien said.

The protest group, Sunrise Movement’s Generation of Fire, marched 400 miles from New Orleans to Houston to advocate for a Civilian Climate Corps program, according to the group’s Twitter.

“We’re marching to demonstrate the urgency of the climate and economic criticism and the need for Congress and Biden to pass an ambitious Civilian Climate Corps as part of the American Jobs Plan by the end of Summer 2021 as an immediate and first step solution,” their website says.

The Civilian Climate Corps proposal aims to create a government jobs program that offers equitable employment opportunities to fight the climate crisis, according to Sunrise Movement’s website.

The proposal demands jobs paying at least $15 an hour with full health care coverage and “critical support services such as transportation, housing, and childcare,” the website says.

They also demand education grants of $25,000 per year of service and up to $50,000 for education at all levels or to pay student debt, the website states.