Troopers Detain 26 in Second Night of Arrests at Capitol

A reporter from the Nashville Scene and a man who said he was walking through Legislative Plaza just after midnight were among the more than two dozen people arrested by Tennessee Highway Patrol Saturday.

About 200 “Occupy Nashville” protesters began meeting at 7 p.m. Friday with a core group saying they were willing to be arrested, including some of the 29 people who were arrested and cited for trespassing early that morning.

The Metro Nashville night judge refused to sign warrants for the protesters’ arrests for the second time in as many days, reportedly saying he could “find no authority anywhere for anyone to authorize a curfew anywhere on Legislative Plaza.”

The arrests come at the heels of a new policy from Gov. Bill Haslam’s administration that bans individuals from Legislative Plaza, the War Memorial Building at the Capitol Grounds from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. State officials say the restrictions are in the publics’ best interest but protesters say it suppresses their freedom to assemble.

[View the story “Round Two: Troopers Arrest 26, Including Reporter ” on Storify]