Protesters in Dearborn, Michigan restricted road traffic during a protest Monday amid a wider series of disruptions in New York, Seattle, San Francisco and Chicago. The effort in Dearborn came just weeks after a pro-Palestinian rally included chants of ‘Death to America.’
Demonstrators created a long convoy of vehicles decorated with Palestinian and Yemeni flags as they drove down a major road in the city. Yemeni Houthi rebels fired a number of missiles against Israel during Saturday’s attack.
A large pro-Palestine and Houthi caravan disrupted traffic as it drove through Dearborn and Detroit in Michigan. pic.twitter.com/JNyZK2LOai
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Four of the protesters were arrested prior to making it to the Ambassador Bridge to block it. About 60 vehicles were involved in the convoy and 38 citations were written.
Police said that the protesters created “traffic obstructions” and almost caused multiple accidents. Law enforcement also said that the convoy ignored multiple traffic control signals and blocked intersections.
Five vehicles were impounded.
The protests elsewhere shut down access to major airports and bridges in several major cities. In New York protesters blocked traffic on the Brooklyn Bridge that links that borough to Manhattan. In San Francisco, the Golden Gate Bridge was shut down for more than five hours due to protesters chaining themselves together.
In Chicago, protesters shut down a major access road to O’Hare Airport while Seattle-Tacoma International Airport faced issues due to a major road being blocked by demonstrators.
The renewed protests came just two days after the Islamic Republic of Iran launched a large drone and missile attack against Israel. Nearly all of the projectiles either failed or were shot down prior to impact.
Republicans are seeking an investigation into the rally in Dearborn several weeks ago in which protesters chanted ‘Death to America’ and ‘Death to Israel.’
Rep. John Moolenaar (R-MI) said that such actions should not be dismissed as people just exercising their First Amendment rights but instead “a failure to recognize them as a tinderbox of violence.”
Five members of the House representing Michigan signed a joint letter stating that such protests are ““platforms for terrorism and violence.”
