A sign being displayed along Interstate-4 Monday morning may have played a role in two multi-car crashes.
According to the Florida Highway Patrol, protesters with the group "Tampa Light Brigade" used an electronic sign protesting Tax Day on the U.S. 301 overpass. They were behind a fence at 6:30 a.m. and positioned along a walkway while displaying their messages to passing traffic on Interstate 4.
While the sign was there, two separate crashes happened in the westbound lanes of I-4 near Highway 301.
The first crash involved two vehicles and the second crash involved four vehicles. There were only minor injuries but the pileups thwarted westbound traffic past 8 a.m.
Troopers responded and investigated both crashes, saying multiple drivers told them they saw the protesters and their sign.
Beverly Seiboldt was driving to work at the time.
“They were close to dead stopped. I got rear ended, did my 360, I looked to the left when I stopped, and I saw them still piling up,” she said.
According to Florida Highway Patrol, the protestors were in a lawful area behind a fence and not on the interstate itself. Officials did say that "motorists are required to operate their vehicles in a careful and prudent manner."
A statement on the group's Facebook page says:
"Tampa Light Brigade is a group of dedicated activists, modeled after the Overpass Light Brigade, that seeks to use all forms of media to spread new ways of thinking about our relationships, our world, and our future. We hope to reach out to the masses of people who work hard to make this world a better place for all of us and our posterity."
Protesters displayed a similar sign on the morning of April 3 on I-4 near 301. On that morning, protesters hung a sign saying: "Stop Monsanto GMO Law."
According to Bay News 9's partner newspaper the Tampa Bay Times, on that occassion the sign was in reference to an appropriations bill that Congress recently passed and that President Barack Obama signed.