CHICAGO -- Anti-violence protests in Chicago on Saturday temporarily shut down the Dan Ryan Expressway, one of the busiest freeways in the nation. Demonstrators marched on the busy stretch of Interstate 94, demanding an end to the city's violence.
NBC station WMAQ said that protesters were initially confined to the far right lane and a shoulder, but as crowds stalled near the 76th Street overpass, things changed.
Police said they initially were willing to allow demonstrators to remain in the right lane and on the shoulder. But as the march began to clog up shortly after it started, WMAQ said, one of the march's organizers, Rev. Michael Pfleger was reportedly negotiating to have authorities shut down all northbound lanes of the interstate.
He could be heard saying, "we're making progress," and moments later, the entire northbound stretch of highway was blocked at 79th Street as the march progressed.
According to WMAQ, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel on Friday publicly backed the peach march, calling it "important."
When asked, Emanuel said Pfleger and the march's participants should be allowed on the busy expressway.
"They should be allowed, yes, because they're going to be talking about anti-violence," he said.
In the days leading up to the march, Pfleger had promised to temporarily shut down the interstate on Saturday, despite a warning from the Illinois State Police that march participants on the highway would face arrest. The march quickly gained the support of the Rev. Jesse Jackson and other local community leaders.
WMAQ said that the Illinois State Police released a statement in the days leading up to the march warning that any pedestrians entering "any expressways in Illinois ... will face arrest and prosecution."
"The ISP supports the First Amendment right to peacefully assemble," police said in a statement. "So long as it does not put the safety of the public in peril."
(WMAQ contributed to this report.)
