A city youth worker lost her job this week after Mayor Walsh found out that she was one of 11 protesters who chained themselves to concrete-filled barrels in Milton during Thursday’s protest in support of the activist group Black Lives Matter, the Boston Herald reports.

Nelli Ruotsalainen, 25, a Finnish native living in Roxbury who worked part-time for the Boston Centers for Youth and Families as a youth communication specialist, had requested an unpaid personal day on Thursday.

The Herald reports:

“She was not terminated because she protested, because if you take a personal day you can do what you want on that day. She was terminated because of the risk of public safety. … The way the events unfolded (Thursday) really bothered me,’’ Walsh said.

Not only did the protests clog I-93 for hours during the morning commute, but they forced an ambulance transporting an elderly car crash victim suffering from life-threatening injuries to be rerouted from Boston to Brockton.


For the full Herald report, click here.