Just before Thanksgiving, Professor Jacobson reported that approximately 80 anti-Israel protesters were arrested and cars towed away after they blocked all westbound lanes of the Bay Bridge.
Subsequently, I reported that San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins said her office would charge all of the arrested protestors after halting traffic during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation conference in November.
Now demonstrators are protesting the DA’s decision.
Supporters of the 80 people arrested for blocking the Bay Bridge last month packed San Francisco’s Hall of Justice on Monday for the protesters’ first court appearance, railing against District Attorney Brooke Jenkins for pursuing a series of misdemeanor charges and renewing calls for a cease-fire in Gaza.More than 150 people gathered for an initial rally on the rain-soaked steps of the courthouse before heading inside for the hearing, crowding into the hallway outside of a second-floor courtroom while chanting, “Let us in!”
The protesters were clearly pro-Hamas. Fortunately, Jenkins seemed unmoved by the drama.
Many people wore keffiyehs and held up Palestinian flags. A large banner read “Biden: Ceasefire now!” behind them as they stood on the steps.Those who gathered are calling for San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins to drop the charges against the protestors and for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war.So far, the district attorney has charged 17 of them with false imprisonment, unlawful public assembly, and refusing to disperse.”While we must protect avenues for free speech, the exercise of free speech cannot compromise public safety. The demonstration on the Bay Bridge that snarled traffic for hours had a tremendous impact on those who were stuck on the bridge for hours and required tremendous public resources to resolve,” Jenkins said in a statement.
The excuses being made on behalf of those charged, who delayed the transport of multiple organs to patients in critical need because of their antics, are truly astonishing.
An attorney representing the self-proclaimed “Bay Bridge 78″ says she wants to be on the right side of moral history, by supporting, rather than condemning the acts of civil disobedience and calling for a cease-fire in Gaza.”An act of civil disobedience that creates a disruption that forces people to pay attention and to really examine what their conscience tells them about the us complicity in the murder of individuals in Gaza, is no different than those actions and should not be treated with this criminality,” EmilyRose Johns, an attorney with the National Lawyers Guild said.A member of the Palestinian Youth Movement says several of those charged are from his organization.He says to prosecute all 80 people is a waste of time and taxpayer money.”These five charges of 80 people is going to be a multimillion dollar expense for the city of San Francisco, while there are people on the streets, people are hungry, people are unhoused,” Rami Abdel Karim, a member of the Palestinian Youth Movement said. “And in order to save tax payer dollars in the city of San Francisco, when we’re undergoing a budget crisis, to drop all of the charges.”
We wish the San Francisco DA good success in her pursuit of the charges.
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