Police arrested 20 Occupy Houston protesters Monday afternoon as more than 100 demonstrators from as far as Dallas and Austin gathered just outside the Houston Port in a coordinated action with other Occupy demonstrations targeting the nation's ports.

More than 1,000 Occupy Wall Street protesters blocked cargo trucks at some of the West Coast's busiest ports Monday, forcing terminals in Oakland, Calif., Portland, Ore., and Longview, Wash., to halt operations.

Organizers called for the "Shutdown Wall St. on the Waterfront" protests, hoping the day of demonstrations would cut into profits of corporations that run the docks and send a message that their movement was not over.

The closures' economic impact, however, wasn't immediately clear.

No major clashes

Protesters beat drums and carried signs as they marched outside the gates. There were a handful of arrests, but no major clashes with police.

"We are here in solidarity with the West Coast port shutdowns, but we're not here to shut down the port," said Amy Price, an Occupy Houston protester. "We don't want the Houston port workers to lose money. We just want to cause enough havoc to draw a spotlight on what's going on with our port. And the way to do that, we think, is civil disobedience."

About 60 members of the Houston Police Department, Harris County Sheriff's Office and the Houston Fire Department monitored the demonstration, which began at 1 p.m.

At about 1:45, two groups of protesters - one numbering six and the other 12 - lay on the street, stopping traffic into a two-lane road that leads to the port entrance. Three trucks and four cars were halted before oncoming traffic was redirected to an alternate route.

HFD was called in to cut PVC pipes off of a group of protesters who used the devices to band their arms together. A large red tent was placed over the protesters to prevent sparks, said HPD spokesman John Cannon.

Protesters then came out of the tent individually, were handcuffed and detained by police. Ten protesters were charged with blocking a public roadway, and eight were arrested for using a criminal instrument to block a public roadway.

The demonstrators became increasingly angry during the arrests. Two lay down on the sidewalk, blocking the path of officers on horseback. Both were arrested for interfering with a public servant.

By 3:30 p.m., protesters had cleared out, headed to their next Occupy event - a march in downtown.

'Not our style'

Arrests are not common for most Occupy Houston demonstrations, said Eric Boyd, who has been attending the events since November.

"It's just not our style, and I'm a little concerned this is going to damage our relations with the police," he said.

Boyd felt some out-of-towners acted more "militant" than Occupy Houston protesters, yelling and swearing at law enforcement officials. "I'm worried that their actions will have negative effects for our community at Tranquillity Park," he said, referring to the downtown park that the protesters have often used.

Despite the arrests, HPD reported the demonstration as peaceful. No injuries were sustained by either protesters or law enforcement officials, he said.

Director of Port Security Marcus Woodring said Port of Houston Authority was disappointed that Occupy Houston members protested at the port.

"We provide and generate about 393,000 jobs statewide," Woodring said. "A lot of those people are union workers, truck drivers, day laborers and small businesses."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

safiya.ravat@chron.com