Protesters in San Francisco and New York blocked the Golden Gate and Brooklyn Bridges, respectively, on Monday in support of the Palestinian cause. The effort caused significant delays just days after Iran launched a large missile and drone barrage against Israel over the weekend.
In New York City Monday the Brooklyn Bridge connecting the borough to Manhattan was shut down by hundreds of protesters in the afternoon. Many of the protesters carried anti-Israel messages and several American flags were burned.
Protesters shut down the iconic San Francisco Golden Gate Bridge in a bid to “Stop the World for Gaza.’ pic.twitter.com/CBMqHjmzt3
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Police responded to the disruption and at least two dozen of the protesters were arrested.
Members of the NYPD began grabbing protesters off of the bridge and blocked them from being able to protest at New York’s City Hall. A separate protest blocked entry into the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport including the use of four vehicles.
The vehicles were removed by police using tow trucks.
A separate protest blocked access to the busy Chicago O’Hare Airport.
“Golden Gate Bridge is closed in both directions for an undetermined amount of time,” said the San Francisco Department of Emergency Management.
The bridge was shut down for much of the afternoon after being blocked starting around 7:30 a.m. Police were quick on the scene as the protesters shut down not only car traffic but also pedestrian and bicycle traffic. Some of the protests chained themselves together to make it harder for law enforcement to remove them.
Overall, the bridge was shut down for more than five hours.
Some of the protesters were able to secure themselves both to each other and other vehicles. More than twenty people were arrested for blocking traffic as of noon.
The protesters unveiled a banner on the bridge reading “Stop the world for Gaza.”
Protesters further rallied in Dearborn, Michigan, which has a large Arab American and Muslim American population. Residents protested with Palestinian and Yemeni flags, driving down a major road in a large convoy. Houthi rebels in Yemen fired a series of missiles against Israel alongside Iran on Saturday.
