For those not familiar with the area, the Bay Bridge is not the famous Golden Gate Bridge which runs north and south between San Francisco and Sausalito. The Bay Bridge runs east and west between San Francisco and Oakland.

CHP reporting 100s of protestors are on the Bay Bridge shutting down westbound traffic into San Francisco. Not a single car on the western span upper deck into SF when it should be packed right now for the morning rush pic.twitter.com/uS3FjEa5LB

— Drew Tuma (@DrewTumaABC7) November 16, 2023

Today, a group of about 100 pro-Palestinian protesters drove onto the bridge and shut down the westbound lanes, meaning the lanes headed into San Francisco. Some allegedly threw their own keys into the bay to prevent their cars from being moved.

“What they’ve done is put people’s lives at risk,” said a CHP officer at the scene, who added that they support First Amendment rights but said blocking the bridge was “100% wrong.”…

Some drivers abandoned their cars and threw their keys into the bay, according to the officer, who repeated this information twice. CHP said it had been videotaping the entire demonstration to identify people and vehicles involved in the protest…

CHP officers on loudspeakers asked the demonstrators to leave the bridge at 8:45 a.m., declaring the protest an unlawful assembly. Officers have started to confiscate some of the banners. Two buses from the San Francisco Sheriff’s Department were on the bridge, apparently to transport detained protesters.

Protesters used other tactics to drag this out.

Some of the protesters chained themselves together on the roadway. Images showed their protesters’ arms locked together through the open windows of several stopped vehicles.

The Arab Resource and Organizing Center (AROC) said on social media that the action by about 200 protesters was to highlight what it called a genocide happening in Gaza while President Joe Biden was hosting cocktail parties in San Francisco.

The group unfurled a banner reading, “Biden Harris: Ceasefire Now” across the lanes while others held a banner reading “No to US military aid to Israel. Still other protesters held a “die-in” on the roadway, covering their bodies in white sheets and placards that read “11,000 dead.”

You can see in this clip how they chained themselves together through car windows.

NOW ON THE BAY BRIDGE

Dozens are shutting the bridge down during commute hours, DEMANDING a ceasefire in Gaza while Biden is here in San Francisco.

No Gaza genocide, no more bombing, stop killing children. pic.twitter.com/UXx6sVxd6R

— JVP Bay Area (@JVPBayArea) November 16, 2023

The group that organized this, the Arab Resource and Organizing Center (AROC), is the same one that organized an attempt to block the loading of a military ship headed to Israel earlier this month.

🚨BREAKING🚨: Bay Area residents have SHUT DOWN Bay Bridge to demand ceasefire while @Potus Biden visits San Francisco. #CeasefireNow! No more genocide in Gaza!#BayBridge #CeasefireNow #BidenHarrisCeasefireNOW #APEC pic.twitter.com/xIqkKSc6TB

— AROC #FreePalestine (@AROCBayArea) November 16, 2023

Jeryl Bier points out who this group is.

I have found this typical of groups like this. There is a single use of "Hamas" by @AROCBayArea on Twitter, and it's this: "Hamas is a straw man argument…" https://t.co/hPVYbOzTfx pic.twitter.com/QLLSKv5NWP

— Jeryl Bier (@JerylBier) November 16, 2023

More video:

The Bay Bridge is SHUT DOWN

Biden will not get away with genocide, Biden will not get away with staying in San Francisco without EVERYONE knowing he is supporting the slaughter in Gaza

No more genocide, ceasefire NOW pic.twitter.com/iQWWevwclA

— Ariel Koren (@ariel_koko) November 16, 2023

Police moved in pretty quickly and at least 50 people have been arrested.

More than 50 people have been arrested so far, more than a dozen vehicles have been towed, traffic has been stalled for three hours

No more business as usual @JoeBiden, call for a ceasefire NOW pic.twitter.com/jbkKmhV6Mg

— JVP Bay Area (@JVPBayArea) November 16, 2023

They were put on buses and taken away.

Video shows CHP officers taking protesters in custody. They continue to chant "What do we want? Cease-fire! When do we want it? Now!"

Video: @bethlaberge / KQED pic.twitter.com/h35oVjxc9F

— KQED News (@KQEDnews) November 16, 2023

About 15 vehicles have been towed away and the backup is said to be 20 miles long.

CHP says they have made 50 arrests & towed 15 vehicles so far. The Bay Bridge has been blocked for two hours so far & the backup in the east bay is about 20 miles. https://t.co/JyojdKYx8k

— Steve Rhodes (@tigerbeat) November 16, 2023

The police are about to open at least two lanes of the bridge as I write this. But I guess the protesters achieved their goals by getting lots of media attention and creating a bit of chaos near where President Biden is staying at the moment. And because these protesters are all leftists, they will probably be given a mild slap on the wrist and released.