Boston Mayor Fires I-93 Protester

Photo: Boston Mayor Marty Walsh. Credit: Marty Walsh’s Facebook page.

The mayor of Boston has fired one of the protesters who blocked traffic on Interstate-93 North in Milton Thursday morning by chaining herself to a 1,200-pound, cement-filled barrel, according to the Boston Herald.

Mayor Marty Walsh terminated 25-year-old Nelli Ruotsalainen, of Lambert Avenue, Roxbury, who was a city employee, specifically a part-time youth communication specialist for the Boston Centers for Youth and Families, according to the Herald.

From the Herald:

“As mayor, you have to make tough, difficult decisions. This is not a difficult decision,” Walsh said. “This was not based on the fact of this woman protesting. It was based on the fact of putting the public safety of other people at risk.”

Police arrested a total of 29 protesters Thursday. The protests, on I-93 in Medford and Milton, stalled Boston’s morning commute and caused an Easton ambulance transporting a car-crash victim with life-threatening injuries to be diverted.

Massachusetts lawmakers have already called for harsher penalties for protesters on highways in the aftermath of the protests.

More on Patch

• Lawmakers Want Harsher Penalties for Protests on Highways
• Authorities Name Black Lives Matter Protesters Arrested on I-93 Outside Boston
• Poll: Do You Support the Black Lives Matter I-93 Protest?
• I-93 Protesters Block Easton Ambulance from Reaching Hospital
• Black Lives Matter Protesters Block I-93 During Boston’s Morning Rush Hour