Highway 1 southbound near the fishhook was blocked by six UC Santa Cruz students for four hours Tuesday. It fully reopened at 2:30 p.m.. Photo by KSBW
A dozen protesters unsuccessfully attempted to block Santa Cruz County Jail entrances after police arrested six UC Santa Cruz students who blocked Highway 1 at the Highway 17 interchange.
Highway 1 southbound was blocked for four hours Tuesday and fully reopened at 2:30 p.m.
The entire incident began before 9:30 a.m., when a U-Haul van dropped off supplies needed to create an elaborate human blockade that law enforcement would not be able to quickly dislodge, investigators said. The U-Haul driver quickly left the scene.
Six students blocked Highway 1 southbound where the fishhook merges with Highway 17 by using their bodies, trash cans filled with cement, chains, and pipes.
Students smiled while they arms were wrapped with chains and connected to the cement trash cans.
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Demonstrators said they were standing up against tuition hikes imposed by the University of California system, as well as police brutality.
Their banners contained the slogans, “Fight The Hikes,” “Reject The Regents,” “Black Lives Matter,” and “Education Not Incarcerate.”
Crews used jackhammers, sledge hammers, and saws to unbind the protesters at 1:30 p.m. Officers put safety goggles and other protective gear on the students while attempting to safely remove them from the highway.
The six arrested students were identified by the California Highway Patrol as: Ethan Pezzow, 19, of Santa Cruz, Alexandria Pearce, 19, of San Francisco, Sophia Dimatteo, 19, of Sherman Oaks, Janine Caceres, 18, of Los Angeles, Lori Nixon, 28, of Santa Cruz, and Sasha Petterson, 19, of Santa Cruz.
They were arrested on the following charges: Conspiracy, creating a public nuisance, refusing to comply with an order by a uniformed officer, and resisting arrest.
Dozens more protesters joined the demonstration by blocking traffic with a large banner on the Highway 1 offramp at Ocean Street, 911 dispatchers said. The group of 50 then marched from Ocean Street to Graham Hill Road, before continuing on to the jail on Water Street.
A CHP SIG Alert was issued warning motorists to avoid the area as traffic halted.
