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Californians Protesting Against Police Violence Arrested in Monterey

© AP Photo / Nick UtCalifornia Highway Patrol officers stand on guard to block protesters from entering a highway ramp downtown Los Angeles Tuesday, Nov. 25, 2014
California Highway Patrol officers stand on guard to block protesters from entering a highway ramp downtown Los Angeles Tuesday, Nov. 25, 2014 - Sputnik International
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Several participants in the "Black and Brown Lives Matter" demonstration in Monterey, California were reportedly arrested.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Several participants in the "Black and Brown Lives Matter" demonstration in Monterey, California were arrested after blocking traffic on Highway 1, The Monterey County Herald reports.

The newspaper is citing Monterey Assistant Police Chief Dave Hober as saying that 8 of the demonstrators were taken into custody and face misdemeanor charges.

"The fact that I'm black, myself, is the No. 1 thing that brought me out here today," Courtney Thomas, 23, of Los Angeles, said on Saturday, as quoted by Monterey Herald. Thomas was speaking before she was arrested later in the day.

"A lot of men in my community are getting gunned down almost every day, and no justice is being served," she stressed.

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According to Monterey Herald, the 8 protesters who were arrested were first taken to the Monterey City Jail and were later released on charges including obstructing a public roadway, failure to obey a lawful order and unlawful assembly.

The "Black and Brown Lives Matter" peaceful demonstration started at 10 a.m. local time (17:00 GMT) on Saturday. The protesters chanted "No justice, no peace, racist cops off the street," and "Ain't no power like the power of the people if the power of the people don't stop."

When the demonstrators marched onto California State Route 1 freeway, blocking traffic, police gave them the opportunity to leave the area peacefully to avoid arrest, according to Monterey Herald. Those who refused were taken into custody.

The protesters told the local newspaper that their demonstration was inspired by the Ferguson protests over the Michael Brown shooting.

Tensions in Ferguson, Missouri, started after Michael Brown, an unarmed African-American teenager, was fatally shot by white police officer Darren Wilson on August 9, 2014. The killing, and a jury's subsequent decision not to indict Wilson, triggered a wave of local and nation-wide protests.

The incident also led to an upsurge in awareness about racial profiling, police brutality and other illegal and inappropriate actions by US police. Multiple shooting incidents involving African-Americans and white US police officers have surfaced since the Ferguson protests, leading to more demonstrations in various US cities.

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