DETROIT — Rashida Tlaib, a Democratic candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives from Detroit, and former Democratic gubernatorial candidate Abdul El-Sayed were among those arrested during a "Fight for $15" rally in Detroit on Tuesday afternoon.
Hundreds of fast food workers gathered in Detroit and earlier in the day in Flint demanding to be paid at least $15 an hour for their work.
Tlaib,who will likely be the first Muslim-American woman in Congress when the term begins in 2019 as she is currently running unopposed, was among more than a dozen people who were arrested at the rally. Some were loaded into a Detroit police bus, including El-Sayed.
The strike comes just one day before a nationwide walkout by fast food workers demanding union rights from employers in battleground states across the country.
Congressional candidate @RashidaTlaib getting arrested at @fightfor15 @wxyzdetroit pic.twitter.com/BPJxOZzWY4
— Ameera David (@AmeeraDavid) October 2, 2018
Former candidate for governor @AbdulElSayed arrested @fightfor15 demonstration in civil disobedience act pic.twitter.com/OUIAN4wPKg
— Ameera David (@AmeeraDavid) October 2, 2018
Six protestors were hit by a truck in Flint earlier Tuesday morning, but it's believed the crash was an accident and the driver was "pretty shaken up" afterward, according to Flint's police chief.