Police clear protesters blocking light rail near Super Bowl

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Police on Sunday arrested a group of activists who locked themselves along a light-rail line carrying Super Bowl ticketholders to U.S. Bank Stadium, shutting down trains for more than two hours.

Live footage from the scene showed officers unlocking or cutting through locks the protesters had used to chain themselves to each other and to fencing at the West Bank Station on Metro Transit's Green Line. The handcuffed protesters were loaded onto a waiting bus.

Metro Transit used buses to ferry passengers around the blockage, and spokesman Howie Padilla said the agency was confident spectators would reach the game before kickoff. The shutdown started about 2:15 p.m., and the stop was finally cleared about two hours later.