San Francisco police began arresting protesters calling for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war on Thursday after demonstrations blocked the Bay Bridge, a key commuter route into the city which is hosting the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum.
Organizers said 200 people attended the demonstration, which also called for an end to US military aid to Israel. Hundreds of police began to make arrests and lead protesters away in zip ties, after the California Highway Patrol issued a dispersal order to the assembled group. Authorities also deployed tow trucks to remove protesters' vehicles blocking the bridge.
Local emergency services warned of the blockage during morning rush hour on the bridge which links Oakland and other East Bay cities to San Francisco.
Several groups participated in the demonstration, including the Palestinian Youth Movement and Bay Area Palestine Solidarity, according to a press release. The two groups did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
'Free Palestine'
Before the dispersal, protesters chained themselves together through vehicles adorned with signs that said "Free Palestine" among others, social media posts showed. Several protesters appeared to be lying on the asphalt covered with white sheets.
Traffic traveling on the bridge toward San Francisco began to move as of about 10:45 a.m. local time after a backup.
Claudia Felix, 28, a demolition remediation worker left her home in inland Stockton at 4:30 a.m. local time only to find the bridge blocked at 7 a.m. Felix got stuck in traffic before traveling onto the bridge and was forced to exit a little after 10 a.m., almost six hours after she left home. She had pulled over to the side of an access road and said she felt stressed.
“It is a good idea because they are against a war but I think they should be more safe and protest in the city, not the bridge,” Felix said.