Newton Resident Arrested During Boston Climate Protest

NEWTON, MA — A Newton resident is one of five people who were arrested during a climate protest in Boston Wednesday morning, police said.

Police said Mark Dugan, 54, was arrested around 6:45 a.m. in the middle of the roadway on the Leverett Circle Connector and charged with trespassing on state property, disorderly conduct, and conspiracy to commit a crime. He is scheduled to be arraigned at Boston Municipal Court.

Wednesday’s protest was organized by members the climate change group Extinction Rebellion. Chapters of the group have staged demonstrations across the globe, including in Massachusetts. One year ago, members of the group were arrested after they chained themselves to a boat in front of Gov. Charlie Baker's Swampscott home.

Because the group announced plans to protest in Boston Tuesday night, police had stopped several demonstrations before they disrupted traffic. However, protesters were successful in blocking a portion of the bridge at Seaport Boulevard and Atlantic Avenue, according to Boston police.

Wednesday's demonstration is part of an Extinction Rebellion "week of rebellion," a series of events aimed at raising awareness about climate change. Wednesday's planned blockade was labeled as the "stop fossil fuels morning rebellion.”

"We are calling on the Massachusetts and federal government to ban all new fossil infrastructure and make a rapid transition away from existing fossil fuel infrastructure and onto renewable sources of energy," the group said.

In addition to making five arrests, police also seized two vehicles that the trespassers had parked in two separate travel lanes to block traffic.

Police said one of those vehicles, a 2017 Ford F250 pickup truck, was carrying several 55-gallon steel drum barrels with holes cut into them and pipes running through the holes, a device known as a “sleeping dragon.” A “sleeping dragon” is an improvised device made by protestors to secure themselves together.

"The seizure of the 'sleeping dragons' by Troopers prevented the protestors from chaining themselves together in the devices to block traffic at the busy intersection, which is used by motorists connecting to and from the Tobin Bridge, Route 93, Storrow Drive, Nashua Street, and Charles River Dam Road,” state police said.

Other protestors arrested alongside Dugan include Joseph Rogers, 55 of Lyndeborough, N.H., Grant Rockett, 64, of Jamaica Plain, Jennifer Smith, 48, of Watertown, and Mary Hansen, 67, of Jamaica Plain.