50 people arrested as protest shuts down Bay Bridge, CHP says

[Valin]

SFgate

Amy Graff

Nov 16, 2023

All westbound lanes opened on the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge just before noon Thursday, California Highway Patrol said. Throughout the morning commute, protesters fully shut down westbound traffic as world leaders gathered in San Francisco for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit.

Approximately 50 protesters were arrested and 15 cars were towed, CHP said. California Highway Patrol officer Art Montiel said 100 to 200 protesters associated with the activist group Arab Resource and Organizing Center were on the bridge earlier this morning. Video footage and photos posted on social media indicated that AROC is calling for an Israel-Hamas ceasefire.

Protesters drove onto the Bay Bridge and parked their cars just east of Treasure Island, bringing westbound traffic to a complete standstill around 8 a.m., CHP said. As of 10:15 a.m., the right shoulder was open to cars, and Montiel said lane No. 1 was expected to open in the next 20 minutes.

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[Draggingtree]

Hundreds of demonstrators in Los Angeles shut down a stretch of Hollywood Boulevard on Wednesday afternoon in a protest demanding Joe Biden and US lawmakers call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. In the heart of Hollywood, along the palm tree-lined streets near Ripley’s Believe It or Not! and the Walk of Fame, protesters waved Palestinian flags and held signs – “not in our name” and “let Gaza live”. 

More than 1,000 people gathered in the rain, including a group that staged a sit-in at the intersection with flowers in hand and shirts reading “Jews say ceasefire now” as tourists watched. “We demand an end to the killing and the return of the hostages,” one speaker said. “Ceasefire now.”

To which I replied 'Standing up and yelling like that is akin to pissing in the ocean and thinking you'll have an effect on the fish. I swear to god entirely too many people have entirely too much free time. Those of us that aren't assholes do s^#@ like playing golf or fixing s^#@ around the house when we have nothing else to do. These assholes go out and block traffic thinking they're making a difference when all they're doing, in fact, is being assholes and blocking traffic. Juss' sayin'...