A small group of protesters blocked lanes of traffic on the 101 Freeway in Los Angeles Wednesday morning, California Highway Patrol said.
Less than a dozen people shut down the freeway at 9:20 a.m. near the Alvarado Street exit in the Rampart area by sitting in lanes, Officer Kerri Rivas said.
The protesters spray painted foul language on the freeway, directed at police officers.
LAPD officers responded to assist CHP. The protesters initially blocked the entire freeway before they were moved to the bus lane, where they could be seen being arrested by LAPD officers.
Traffic was snarled for miles toward the Cahuenga Pass.
Eight people were reportedly arrested.
LAPD is on a modified tactical alert citywide after two nights of demonstrations in the wake of a Missouri grand jury's decision not to indict a police officer in the shooting death of an unarmed black teen ignited tensions in the city of Ferguson.