St. Louis Police Arrest 143 Protesters Blocking Highway

St. Louis Police took 143 people into custody Tuesday night after a group of protesters blocked the eastbound lanes of Highway 40 (Interstate 64) at Kingshighway.

That's the highest number of arrests at once since protests began Sept. 15 over the verdict in the murder case against former officer Jason Stockley.

The demonstrators got off the interstate at the Jefferson Avenue exit. The arrests came as the protesters began marching north on Jefferson Avenue.

Protesters were nearing Market Street when they were met by a police line and they moved onto the sidewalk.

Police ordered protesters to the ground, then began systematically handcuffing them and packing them into about a dozen police vans, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.