Video shows pro-Palestine protestors blockading the Bay Bridge, which connects the California cities of San Francisco to Oakland, on Thursday morning.
The demonstrators effectively blocked off the westbound lanes of the Bay Bridge as they demanded that President Joe Biden support a ceasefire for the ongoing Israel-Hamas war, NBC Bay Area reported. Biden was in San Francisco on Thursday after meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping the previous day as part of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit.
The picketers joined arms to block traffic at around 7:40 a.m. while holding a banner that read “Biden Harris: Ceasefire Now,” organizers told the outlet. Other banners read “No US Military Aid To Israel” and “Stop The Genocide.”
WATCH:
The Bay Bridge connecting San Francisco to Oakland has been shut down by anti-Israel protestors pic.twitter.com/xOEz067Cd8
— Harrison Krank (@HarrisonKrank) November 16, 2023
🚨The Pro-Palestine protest blocking all lanes westbound on the Bay Bridge shutting down traffic into San Francisco, While Joe Biden and Xi Jinping are here in SFO. pic.twitter.com/W6W2UCHPNM
— Sociat USA 🇺🇸 (@SociatUSA) November 16, 2023
Other demonstrators held a “die-in,” which involved some protestors covering their bodies with white sheets and placards that read “11,000 dead,” the purported death toll in Gaza, the outlet noted. (RELATED: Police Arrest Suspect In Death Of Jewish Protester)
Police officers, sheriff’s deputies and units from the California Highway Patrol (CHP) quickly responded to the incident and began making arrests, according to NBC Bay Area. At least 50 people were taken into custody, and 15 protester vehicles were towed off the bridge, per the outlet. (RELATED: Video Shows Climate Activists Blocking Rush Hour Traffic In Boston)
All lanes of westbound I-80 east of Treasure Island on the Bay Bridge are blocked by protesters. CHP on scene. No ETO. pic.twitter.com/BOQXCAuVhK
— CHP Oakland (@CHPoakland) November 16, 2023
Traffic appeared to be moving again by 10:30 a.m., nearly three hours after the protest began.
In 2012, Bloomberg reported that 270,000 cars cross the Bay Bridge every day. In 2018, SFGate gave the figure as 300,000.