SAN FRANCISCOTwenty-six people accused of blocking the Golden Gate Bridge in April to protest the war in Gaza have been charged with a variety of crimes, with eight of them facing criminal conspiracy charges, San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins announced Saturday morning.
The protests took place on April 15 in the course of the morning rush hour on a weekday. Protesters chained themselves to vehicles and blocked traffic from 8 a.m. to noon. That same day, protesters also blocked Interstate 880 in Oakland, demanding an end to the war and U.S. military support for Israel.
All 26 defendants are charged with false imprisonment, trespassing to disrupt a business, obstructing a course of passage, illegal assembly, failure to disperse in a riot and failure to obey a uniformed officer. Eight individuals are charged with aggravated conspiracy, while the opposite 18 are charged with minor conspiracy.
Arrest warrants have been issued for all those charged and must turn themselves in to the California Highway Patrol no later than Monday, August 12, Jenkins said in an announcement.
“While we must protect the opportunities for free speech, the exercise of free speech must not compromise public safety,” Jenkins said. “The demonstration on the Golden Gate Bridge posed a security risk, including extreme threats to the health and well-being of those trapped, that we as a society cannot ignore or allow.”
On a typical weekday, about 20,000 cars travel across the Golden Gate Bridge, based on data from the Golden Gate Bridge Transit Authority. The Golden Gate Bridge District is estimated to have lost over $162,000 in revenue as a consequence of the April 15 protest.
Among those stranded on the bridge were a patient who missed a pre-operative brain surgery appointment and a surgeon who needed to cancel and reschedule his surgical schedule for a whole day.
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