From the Liveblog of
Monday, December 18, 2023
San Francisco begins charging protesters who blocked Bay Bridge while demanding Gaza ceasefire
SAN FRANCISCO, California — San Francisco prosecutors begin charging 80 protesters who last month blocked traffic for hours on the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge while demanding a ceasefire in Gaza.
The protest came as San Francisco was hosting US President Joe Biden and other world leaders for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit.
Seventeen people are appearing in court today to face charges of false imprisonment, refusing to comply with a peace officer, unlawful public assembly, refusing to disperse and obstruction of street, sidewalk or other place open to public. Their arraignments are continued to February.
Hundreds of demonstrators holding signs that read “Biden: Ceasefire Now” and “Free Free Palestine” and “Drop the Charges!” held a news conference outside the court before the arraignments of those charged began.
Aisha Nizar, of the Palestinian Youth Movement, says she was among those who were arrested and charged but does not plan to stop demonstrating.
“We are more resolute in our demands for a ceasefire than ever,” Nizar says outside the court.
About 200 protesters participated in the demonstration during the global trade summit, and blocked all lanes of traffic into San Francisco on the bridge’s upper deck, with some drivers tossing their keys into the bay. Dozens of them were arrested and 29 vehicles were towed. Protesters demanded that Biden call for an immediate ceasefire in the war between Israel and Hamas.
The demonstrators who were charged will be arraigned in batches throughout the week, prosecutors say.
