Bay Bridge anti-Israel protest leads to 50 arrests; traffic moving again after blockade

About 50 arrests have been made on the Bay Bridge following a protest during Thursday’s morning rush hour that resulted in the shutdown of all westbound lanes for hours.

All lanes reopened shortly before noon, according to the California Highway Patrol. 

CHP spokesperson Officer Art Montiel said about 15 vehicles were towed. There had been earlier reports of protesters throwing their keys off the bridge, but Montiel could not confirm that occurred.

“No, but that was some of the reports that we received,” said Montiel. “I don’t know if anybody from up there on the bridge did it.”

“No, we didn’t see anybody throwing keys into the Bay,” said Marie Choi, one of the protesters, after the event. “I think, you know, people were actually trying to get back in their cars and drive off, but the police were refusing to let people back into their cars.”

Sometime before 7:45 a.m. Thursday, a group calling themselves Bay Area Palestine Solidarity parked their vehicles on the bridge and hung banners calling for a ceasefire in the war between Israel and Hamas. They laid on the ground under sheets written with the words “Stop the Genocide.”

Choi said she was surprised that several of the trapped commuters were not angry at the protesters.

“Someone had a tamale truck and was giving them out on the bridge,” she said. “Folks were walking up and walking back with tamales, we had a lot of folks thanking us for protesting as they walked by. At the end of the day, millions of people around the world are calling for a ceasefire now,” she said.