Pro-Palestinian protests were held on I-880 in Oakland for several hours on Monday morning.
The protests was one of several demonstrations blocking traffic throughout the Bay Area, with another blocking traffic on the Golden Gate Bridge.
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
However, the shocking story here is how far the demonstrators would go to protest.
Watch a shocking video here of a police officer struggles to break apart the protestors:
Tactics utilized by unlawful protesters this morning on I-880 and the Golden Gate Bridge. This is unlawful and will not be tolerated. Arrests were made and the CHP is recommending charges. Thank you to our law enforcement partners for their assistance. pic.twitter.com/Nn4fdqD08m
— CHP Headquarters (@CHP_HQ) April 16, 2024
Full video player here:
Tactics utilized by unlawful protesters this morning on I-880 and the Golden Gate Bridge. This is unlawful and will not be tolerated. Arrests were made and the CHP is recommending charges. Thank you to our law enforcement partners for their assistance. pic.twitter.com/Nn4fdqD08m
— CHP Headquarters (@CHP_HQ) April 16, 2024
The protestor is shown in agony as the officers were forced to cut a piece of concrete reinforcement in order to remove him.
The video also shows the officer pleading with the man to simply let go of the rebar, which he refused to do so.
Coincidentally, the protest was unlawful and about 40 arrests were made from the protest.
Fox News provides more on the techniques by the protestors and on the charges:
The video shows a man’s hand pushed through a pipe and held down with concrete inside a 55-gallon drum. An officer is seen unscrewing a screw to try to pull out the man’s hand. The officer yells “Let go! Let go of the bar!” several times and the man is heard screaming “Ow, ow, ow! The rebar is cutting me. Stop! Stop!”
This is a form of the “sleeping dragon” maneuver used by protesters to hinder their removal from a site. The traditional sleeping dragon is when a series of protesters handcuff themselves together through PVC pipe, which prevents police from simply using bolt cutters to break the handcuffs.
The California Highway Patrol released all the various charges they will be recommending to prosecutors, including unlawful assembly, refusal to comply with a lawful order, resisting, false imprisonment and unlawful to stop on a bridge.
While the protestors were hoping to accomplish something, they honestly just annoyed commuters, who took to X to voice their annoyance:
Chopping the arm off would have been quicker and easier.
He got off lightly.
— Ian Emery (@IanEmeryBFG) April 17, 2024
“He needs to be seen by a medic”
NO
He needs to be given a reason to go to the ER!— Mustanger65 (@desertrider65) April 17, 2024
Good, lock em up
— Christteam (@rush4chris) April 17, 2024
People need to realize there is a right way to demonstrate their beliefs, and disrupting traffic is not one of them!
RELATED:
Pro-Palestinian Protestors Block Major Interstates For HOURS, Airport Passengers Abandon Cars and Walk
Remember the “Summer of Love” in 2020?
Feels to me like we’re about to repeat history with mass chaos taking over the USA right in time for another election.
The latest?
Absolute anarchy as Pro-Palestinian protestors (say that 3 times fast) blocked major interstates for hours, causing serious issues in many major U.S. cities.
Here was Chicago, blocking access to O’Hare Airport for hours:
Pro Hamas protestors block the roads leading to OHare, people forced to walk around them with their luggage pic.twitter.com/26d75uNhjq
— Harrison Krank (@HarrisonKrank) April 15, 2024
Police did nothing and passengers left their vehicles (or Ubers) and walked for miles to get to the airport:
WATCH: Palestine protestors block the entrance to Chicago O’Hare Airport, stopping passengers from getting to their flights, while police stand by and watch pic.twitter.com/7yL5EGwcwt
— Overton (@OvertonLive) April 15, 2024
Same story in Seattle:
Pro-Palestinian protestors block the road to Seattle’s Sea-Tac airport
— The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) April 15, 2024
From local KOMO News:
At least eight vehicles appeared to be blocking the road along with a group of people standing in the road. Some passengers could be seen walking past the protest, rolling their bags down the road as they tried to catch their flights.
Police and multiple tow trucks arrived on the scene shortly after the protest began. Nearly an hour after the protest started, the tow trucks began removing the vehicles that were blocking the expressway.
The Washington State Department of Transportation confirmed in a post on X that both directions of the State Route 518 off-ramp to Airport Drive were fully closed.
According to Flightaware.com, 139 flights had been delayed at SEA Monday night. However, it was unclear how many were directly impacted by the protest.
“The airlines have instructed us to tell travelers to check in with them and their specific flight,” Cooper said. “So that’s up to them as to whether they delay those flights or make other arrangements with those travelers.”
The department said all travelers should avoid the area and use alternate routes.
“A demonstration has closed the airport expressway leading to SEA Airport,” Sea-Tac airport posted on X at 3:07 p.m. “Travelers coming to the airport were also urged to use alternate routes or take Light Rail and public transit.”
The airport posted an update on X at 6:01 p.m., noting that the demonstration had been fully cleared.
Florida handled matters much differently….
Take a look at police in action!
Pro-Palestinian protestors attempted to block roads in Florida.
They were promptly dragged to the sidewalk by police officers who enforced order.
Authorities must protect law abiding citizens from having their day disrupted by protesters like these.pic.twitter.com/TogsVjRPJa
— Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) April 16, 2024
This was so insightful:
The most ironic thing about all of the “road block” protests is that the protestors are taking advantage of the fact that humanity is generally good and loving, and won’t run them over and kill them. Think about that for a minute. pic.twitter.com/0K33le0vTx
— Tracy Beanz (@tracybeanz) April 15, 2024
So true!
Different approach from Testicles, PhD (errrr “Tess T. Eccles-Brown, PhD) on Twitter:
How to deal with #FreePalestine protestors or any other ingrates that block traffic, a how-to guide!
— Tess T. Eccles-Brown, PhD (@TTEcclesBrown) April 15, 2024
Curious to know what you support:
Do you think Drivers should should be allowed to PLOW protestors who are illegally on the Interstate?
NATIONAL POLL: Should Drivers Be Allowed To Plow Protestors Illegally On The Interstate?
— DailyNoah.com (@DailyNoahNews) January 13, 2024
We’re taking a poll….please add your vote:
NATIONAL POLL: Should Drivers Be Allowed To Plow Protestors Illegally On The Interstate?
This is a Guest Post from our friends over at WLTReport.