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Numerous police units were on duty around Interstate 95 near Wakefield, Massachusetts
Photo: FAITH NINIVAGGI / REUTERS
A confrontation lasting several hours between a group of heavily armed people and the police on Saturday blocked Interstate 95 near Wakefield, a small town in the greater Boston area in the US state of Massachusetts. According to the police, a total of eleven people were arrested. The morning closure at the beginning of the weekend, which also falls on the US National Day, caused traffic problems in the region.
During the night, a police patrol noticed two vehicles with activated hazard warning lights on the hard shoulder of I-95, which apparently had run out of fuel. The inmates were self-proclaimed members of a militia group armed with rifles and pistols on their way from Rhode Island to Maine to "train" there. According to "NBC Boston" the arrested are part of a group called "Rise of the Moors", which does not recognize US laws, but declares to be peaceful.
When the police wanted to check the inmates' personal details and gun licenses, they fled into the surrounding woods, whereupon Interstate 95 was closed and residents were asked not to leave their homes.
The police negotiated with the militia for several hours.
Two of the men were arrested early in the morning, and after ten o'clock the police finally managed to arrest all suspects and the street was cleared.
According to official information, no shots were fired during the operation and no casualties were reported.
ene / Reuters / AP