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Boston City Worker Fired After Highway Protest

A Boston city worker has been fired after participating in a protest that tied up morning rush-hour traffic Thursday on Interstate 93 north and south of Boston.

The Boston Herald reported the firing Saturday.

Mayor Martin Walsh said the contract youth services worker took an unpaid personal day off Thursday and wasn't fired for exercising free speech. The mayor said the issue was that the highway protest endangered public safety, including diverting an ambulance. The worker was fired after an administrative hearing Friday.

The activists said they were calling attention to police and state violence against black people. Some attached themselves to concrete-filled barrels, others chained themselves together with plastic pipe.

About 30 were arrested and released after pleading not guilty to varying charges including trespassing, disorderly conduct, resisting arrest and willfully obstructing an emergency vehicle.

Earlier:

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