Houston police arrested eight people on Monday as dozens of protesters gathered outside the home of Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz.
“The large majority of the group are extremely peaceful out there expressing the First Amendment rights [to] protest against climate change,” Assistant Police Chief Ban Tien said in a video posted on the Houston Police Department’s Facebook page.
“Unfortunately, there was a small group who [was] actually committing trespassing into private property in front of the senator’s residence,” the officer added, saying that police warned them multiple times to stop.
“Roughly eight individuals still refused to leave and we finally gave one final warning. And those individuals still refused to leave. And we explained to them the fact that they were violating a trespassing law,” Tien said.
“They acknowledged they understood and they chose to be arrested.”
Texas Tribune reporter Erin Douglas posted images from the protest on Twitter.
She noted the protesters were part of a climate change group called the Sunset Movement demanding that President Joe Biden “stop negotiations with the GOP and pass @AOC civilian climate corps plan.”
About 50 @sunrisemvmt protesters outside of Ted Cruz Houston home today demanding Biden stop negotiations with the GOP and pass @AOC civilian climate corps plan. A few are on the lawn as the crowd sings “Whose side are you on?”
About a dozen police and security watching. pic.twitter.com/Iq6M5uCcC2
— Erin Douglas (@erinmdouglas23) June 21, 2021
According to National Review, “When the group arrived at Cruz’s residence, they had just completed [a] 400 mile march from New Orleans to Houston to raise awareness for climate disasters such as hurricanes, pollutions, and the Texas freeze that hit early Spring.”
The protest took place after Cruz blasted Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris on Friday during an interview, claiming they “are quite simply not doing their jobs.”
The “Fox & Friends” interview addressed the Biden administration’s handling of the growing immigration crisis along the nation’s southern border.
Host Steve Doocy said, “States all across the country are sending people to your state because it’s a mess.”
Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are quite simply not doing their jobs. They’re refusing to enforce the law and secure the border. pic.twitter.com/8INqXgcjfb
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) June 18, 2021
Cruz answered, “It is, and it is a complete and total abdication by the federal government. Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are quite simply not doing their job. They’re refusing to enforce the law.”
He added, “And they’ve created an unmitigated crisis at the border.”
Cruz also addressed his recent trip to the border and what he saw.
“A couple of months ago, I took 19 senators down to the border to see firsthand what was happening, and I’ve been to the border many times. It is worse than it has ever been.”
He added, “We had just last month over 180,000 people cross illegally, last month.
“We’re on pace for two million people to cross illegally, and Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have zero intention of doing anything. That’s why they won’t go to the border.”
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.