Pro-Palestinian protesters shut down Golden Gate Bridge for hours

Monday's anti-Israel protests were planned as part of an "economic blockade" coordinated with protests in other major US cities.

APRIL 16, 2024 01:54

Updated: APRIL 16, 2024 06:56

Clouds cover an area of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, California, US, December 4, 2023. (photo credit: REUTERS/CARLOS BARRIA) — Clouds cover an area of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, California, US, December 4, 2023.

(photo credit: REUTERS/CARLOS BARRIA)

Pro-Palestinian demonstrators protested and blocked traffic on the Golden Gate Bridge on Monday, with local reports in the Bay Area stating that vehicles in the area were blocked for nearly five hours before being reopened to traffic.

A pro-Palestinian protest also closed all the lanes on the I-880 in the city of Oakland near the Bay Area. ABC 7 News reported the event "as part of a worldwide economic blockade in solidarity with Gaza."

Both directions of the Golden Gate Bridge have been shut down due to a Pro-Palestinian protest. Demonstrators have blocked the southbound direction of Highway 101. This is the second protest causing major back-ups on Bay Area roadways, the demonstration has blocked northbound… pic.twitter.com/oO5dMCvqFD
— ABC7 News (@abc7newsbayarea) April 15, 2024

The report described protesters in Oakland bringing filled with concrete onto the highway and chaining themselves to the barrels, with police having to arrest the protesters only after they cut through the barrels. The Golden Gate protest was said to have backed traffic into Marin County north of the bridge.

Arrests made

About 28 people were arrested overall during the protests, according to the California Highway Patrol.

A report from the Bay Area branch of NBC stated that protesters exited their cars at 7:30 a.m. on the bridge, demanding that the US "stop stop arming and funding Israel in the war in Gaza," according to the protest's organizers. Helicopter footage documented protesters holding a banner saying, "Stop the world for Gaza."

The Moon rises over the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, California, US, August 2, 2023. (credit: REUTERS/CARLOS BARRIA)

Protesters have also protested on Monday in Chicago at O'Hare Airport.

Authorities are working to clear Pro-Palestinian protesters on northbound I-880 where demonstrators have chained themselves to barrels as part of a worldwide economic blockade in solidarity with Gaza. https://t.co/xs7jlRXiLW pic.twitter.com/8hCdlIOjju
— ABC7 News (@abc7newsbayarea) April 15, 2024

CBS News reported that Monday's anti-Israel protests were planned as part of an "economic blockade" coordinated with protests in other major US cities.