78 Palestine solidarity activists are facing charges following a mass civil disobedience action staged on November 16, in which protesters shut down San Francisco’s Bay Bridge in solidarity with Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
Over 150 demonstrators blocked the Bay Bridge on November 16, while US President Joe Biden was in San Francisco for the APEC Summit. Several activists blocked the bridge with cars, and, highlighting their commitment, proceeded to throw their keys into the San Francisco Bay.
Protesters are facing charges ranging from unlawful public assembly, false imprisonment, refusing to comply with a peace officer, and refusing to disperse a riot and obstruction of a public street.
The Palestine solidarity movement in the Bay Area has been mobilizing to put pressure on San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins to drop the charges against the protesters. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, Jenkins is unwilling as she claimed that “free speech cannot compromise public safety.” The bridge action required “tremendous public resources to resolve,” she said.
Arraignments for the 78 activists began December 18, and over 200 people rallied in front of the San Francisco Criminal Court to demand that DA Jenkins drop the charges. Following the first day of arraignments, a continuance was granted for February 1 and 2.
One of the activists who was arrested at the Bay Bridge action spoke at a press conference held on the courthouse steps on December 18. “I also join the tens of thousands of people who have taken to the streets of San Francisco to demand a permanent ceasefire, to call on our congressional leaders to truly represent the calls from their constituents, and to not allow our tax dollars to fund the genocidal Israeli war on Gaza,” she said.
“If decision-makers do not heed the calls of our emails, our meetings, our phone calls, and our mass mobilizations, then we must do all we can to ensure that our voices are heard,” she continued. “And that means we must disrupt business as usual.”
