Protesters CHAIN themselves to their vehicles and the Bay Bridge, blocking all lanes
Monday, January 18 — Students were out on holiday in celebration of Martin Luther King Jr’s legacy. Meanwhile, others were commuting before rush hour, until protesters abruptly caused a public nuisance on the Bay Bridge. In the middle of the Bay Bridge, 25 protesters blocked 5 westbound lanes, stopping all incoming traffic. Drivers were stuck behind these protesters for hours with no way of getting by. Originally, the protesters planned to protest for 96 minutes but were arrested after 30 minutes of protest, for suspicion of causing a public nuisance. Police placed zip-tie hand cuffs on the protesters and moved them to the shoulder of the highway to reopen traffic lanes. No force was used, and the protesters were able to get out of San Francisco County Jail that same night. The protesters’ intention for causing such an inconvenience to so many people, was to gain attention for MLK’s legacy, and to have people feel the same way colored people did before they had civil rights.
To nobody’s surprise, there were a lot of angry drivers that didn’t seem to understand why anybody would cause such an inconvenience, while others sat on top of their cars, and took selfies to enjoy the wait. A number of people stopped by the toll plaza to use the restroom. If I were someone stuck in that traffic, I would probably be on the bandwagon of annoyed people. I somehow always end up having to use the restroom when I’m stuck in traffic, so this would not have been good for me!
Thankfully this all happened on a public holiday, so traffic was not as bad as it could have been on a normal work day. I can only imagine how nerve racking it would of been to carry out such a hazardous protest, but it was even worse for those stuck in the traffic standstill. I understand that the protesters had good intentions, but it may have been too excessive to cause such a massive public nuisance for hundreds and hundreds of people.
