Eight climate change protesters are arrested outside Ted Cruz's $2million Texas home
Eight people have been arrested for trespassing during a protest outside 's Houston home. Around 70 activists staged a demonstration outside the senator's $2million property in the ritzy River Oaks neighborhood on Monday morning, before police were called to the scene. The protest was held by the Sunrise Movement, an organization advocating for political action on climate change, with video showing some of the participants sitting on Cruz's front lawn and refusing to budge. Police negotiated with some of the activists for more than an hour and threatened to take them into custody if they did not get off Cruz's property. Eight of the protesters refused to yield and were arrested. 'The Houston Police Department supports First Amendment rights, right to public assembly, but it has to be done in a safe manner and it has to be done within the confines and within the scope of the law,' HPD Asst Chief Ben Tien told 'We gave them ample opportunity to leave the location, but they refused.' It did not appear that any members of Cruz's family were inside the home at the time. The Republican politician is married to wife Heidi, with whom he shares two daughters, Caroline and Catherine. Cuz - who is very active on Twitter - has not publicly commented on the protest. It's the third time this year that protests have been staged outside Cruz's plush pad. Back in April, busloads of activists showed up at the home to demonstrate against inaction from congressional representatives. Meanwhile, in February, dozens of outraged constituents stood outside the property demanding Cruz resign after he fled to Cancun to escape widespread power outages in Texas. The Senator was slammed for abandoning his state during the crisis, jetting to Cancun with his family for a vacation as millions of residents shivered without heating in harsh winter temperatures.