Occupy Houston protestors block downtown rush hour traffic; 12 arrested

Twelve protestors who blocked a downtown Houston street leading to an I-45 North onramp were arrested Thursday afternoon. Hundreds more stood on the street corners, cheering as officers dragged them to the police van.

The Occupy movement designated N17 — or Nov. 17, the two month anniversary of the movement — a global day of action. Occupiers from Seattle to New York planned marches, targeting high-profile city bridges to interrupt traffic flow and bring national attention to their cause.

In Houston, representatives from Good Jobs, Great Houston and Occupy Houston protestors got started with a mid-afternoon rally at Market Square Park. As always, the group was a mix of elderly couples, high school students, United States Postal Service employees, handicapped and the homeless. They were led by young adults, some sour-smelling from occupying city parks since day one, despite city interference, bad weather and mosquitoes.

Crowds gathered and commiserated, yelled and prayed. Helicopters hummed loudly, circling overhead. Mounted troops waited on side streets. Only a select few protesters knew of the march's course.

Shortly before 5 p.m., the throng began to move. Marching with hundreds of other people is a slow process, starting and stopping and waiting on street corners for the crosswalk signal to change, the opposite sides chanted in discordance. Police on horses and bicycles lined the crossings, ensuring that protesters didn't break laws or interrupt traffic flow.

The destination was just two blocks away: A bridge on Travis and Commerce streets that leads to I-45 North. Occupiers assembled on all four corners of the intersection while a small group lined up across the mouth of the onramp, holding signs and linking arms.

They sat. Officers swarmed. The protestors zip-tied and taken away, one by one. They were charged with obstructing a roadway.

As the last of the seated protestors was taken away, an elderly woman in red pleaded with officers to arrest her. From the sidewalks, occupiers chanted, "Let grandma go!" The police resisted at first, and pushed the woman back onto the sidewalk using a horse's flank. Ultimately, officers tied her hands and dragged her to the police van with the others.

What followed was an anticlimactic stand-off. Protestors lost some steam. Police officers looked passively annoyed, directing the traffic that had been held up by the dramatic interlude onto one lane leading to the freeway (the other lane tied up with police cars and paddy wagons.) Drivers held up their cell phones to record videos of the protestors as they finally exited downtown.

And then, the march turned back home — to a cozy home or a city park, where the occupiers plan to remain — indefinitely.