Bay Bridge protesters avoid going to trial
The San Francisco District Attorney’s Office said Thursday that 78 pro-Palestinian protesters who were arrested for blocking the Bay Bridge in November agreed to pay restitution and participate in community service to avoid going to trial.
The 78 people will be required to complete five hours of community service within two months, the district attorney’s office said. Each of the 78 people will need to pay restitution to a single victim who came forward in court. The total amount of restitution will be set at a later date, the district attorney’s office said. However, the Palestinian Youth Movement Bay Area said the restitution would at most be $4,448 for the whole group.
“We will continue to ensure that appropriate avenues for the expression of free speech and social advocacy exist and are protected in San Francisco,” the district attorney’s office said in a statement. “I truly believe that we can achieve engaging in free expression while maintaining the safety of our communities.”
During the Nov. 16 protest, participants stopped their cars and chained their arms to the bridge. They rallied with bullhorns and waved signs reading “stop genocide” and “no U.S. military aid to Israel.” Some protesters ditched their cars and tossed their keys off the bridge, the California Highway Patrol said after the protest. The bridge was shut down for more than four hours.
According to the district attorney’s office, one person arrested that day declined the court’s diversion offer and will be arraigned on April 15 on charges of false imprisonment, refusing to comply with a peace officer, unlawful public assembly, refusing to disperse and obstruction of a street open to the public.
The protesters’ supporters called the plea deal a win in a statement from Palestinian Youth Movement Bay Area.
“This is a victory not only for those exercising their right to protest a genocide being fueled by their tax dollars, but for the growing global movement demanding freedom for the Palestinian people,” said Aisha Nizar, one of the Bay Bridge protesters. “We emerge from this case even stronger and more united in our commitment to one another and to the people of Palestine.”
If any of the protesters are arrested again during the twomonth diversion period, the court could end the agreement and order criminal proceedings to resume, the district attorney’s office said.
The Nov. 16 protest was one of several demonstrations during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit that week, which saw global politicians and dignitaries, including President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, flock to San Francisco.
The protest snarled traffic and delayed transplant organs being transported to and from UCSF.
Tensions around the conflict have flared as some Bay Area cities, including San Francisco, passed resolutions calling for a cease-fire in Gaza.
Since Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, more than 30,000 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed and another 70,000 wounded in the Gaza Strip, the Associated Press reported.
“The Bay Bridge protesters are part of a long legacy of people of conscience who have used civil disobedience to bend the arc of history toward justice,” said Jeff Wozniak, one of the attorneys representing the Bay Bridge protesters. “We will continue to vigorously defend all people who take bold action to demand justice and bring an end to this genocide.”