Pro-Palestinian protesters who blocked Golden Gate Bridge convicted of misdemeanor charges

Seven people who blocked traffic on San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge in 2024 to protest Israel's war in Gaza were convicted of misdemeanor charges on Thursday, but avoided a felony conviction.

The protesters, Bhavika Anandpura, River Allen, Rocky Chau, Sara Cantor, Conrad de Jesus, Sarah Ferrell, and Em Tillotson, were found guilty of most of the charges they were facing, but the jury failed to reach a verdict on a felony conspiracy charge which could have sent them to prison for up to 15 years.

The convictions on the misdemeanor charges, including false imprisonment, unlawful assembly and obstruction of a thoroughfare, mean the defendants face a maximum of five years in the county jail. Cantor faces an additional six months after also being convicted of an additional misdemeanor of refusing to disperse.

On April 15, 2024, a group of pro-Palestinian protesters drove onto the bridge, stopped their vehicles on the bridge's southbound lanes, and then chained themselves together to call attention the Israel war in Gaza. The protest blocked traffic on the bridge for four hours.

Twenty-six protesters were arrested and were later dubbed the "Golden Gate 26" or "GG26." Most of the protesters had their charges dropped or reduced, but prosecutors found enough evidence against the seven to take the case to trial.

Many of the people who were stuck on the bridge that day testified in court. 

"There were people who had important doctor's appointments, there were doctors who were surgeons and who were oncologists that couldn't make it," said District Attorney Brooke Jenkins. "There was a mother on the bridge that day who didn't have water in order to pour into her powder formula to feed her baby for hours."

But the protesters' attorneys said the charges were heavy-handed, comparing them to the punishment for pro-Palestinian protesters who blocked the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge in 2023 for the APEC Summit. Those protesters received a fine and five hours of community service.

"We have a long way to go, and it's been this way through history, and we have a country of citizens that know how to fight and continue to fight injustice," said attorney Katy Isa.

A hearing is scheduled for next week on a potential retrial of the deadlocked felony conspiracy charge that was declared a mistrial.

UCSF law professor David Levine told CBS News Bay Area he was surprised there was not a conviction on the felony charge.

"To me, it's a pretty strong charge because everybody showed up at the same time, and they all were prepared to act all together," Levine said. "The way they stopped the cars, the way they locked themselves in, the way they threw out their keys. They had a plan, what more do you need for conspiracy?"

Defense attorneys had argued that the protesters acted out of moral conviction and that seeking a criminal conspiracy conviction for civil disobedience was "egregious," according to a statement from Nuha Abusamra, San Francisco deputy public defender.  

"While we are disappointed that the jury returned misdemeanor convictions, today's verdict reflects that jurors were not persuaded the evidence supported the extraordinary felony charges the prosecution chose to bring," Abusamra said. 

Sentencing was scheduled for August.