Detroit police arrested 18 protesters during a Fight for $15 rally in Detroit Tuesday afternoon.
Detroit police arrested 18 protesters during a Fight for $15 rally in Detroit on Tuesday afternoon.
Among those taken into custody, issued misdemeanor disorderly conduct tickets and released were Democrats Rashida Tlaib, who is vying for a congressional seat in November, and Abdul El-Sayed, who ran in the Democratic primary race for governor, said Detroit Police officer Holly Lowe.
“It’s about time our workers stopped living in chains,” El-Sayed posted on Twitter following his arrest. “A couple of wrist ties are well worth that goal.”
The rally drew dozens of activists to a McDonald’s on Woodward Avenue in Detroit, where demonstrators showed support for pro-union candidates and raising the minimum wage.
Detroit police wouldn’t immediately say what actions led to the disorderly conduct arrests.
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Gretchen Whitmer participated in another Fight for $15 protest Tuesday morning in Flint, where a pickup truck crashed into a group of protesters, leading to the hospitalization of at least eight people, according to Flint Police Chief Tim Johnson. None of the victims were seriously injured, police said.
Whitmer said in a phone interview shortly after the crash she had been out in front of the march. She didn’t see the crash, but was alerted when people started yelling for the marchers to stop. She left in order to let first responders access the scene, she said.
