Pro-Palestinian protesters have shut down the 110 freeway in Los Angeles to demand a ceasefire. As you’ll see, LA drivers were not happy about it.
NOW: Jewish organizers in Los Angeles with IfNotNow have stopped and are blocking the 110 Freeway downtown calling for a ceasefire in Gaza: pic.twitter.com/mFq3a8bUtd
— Jon peltz (@JonnyPeltz) December 13, 2023
LAPD arrived within 10 minutes and the protesters sat down and began singing.
Protesters have sat down on the freeway and are now singing: pic.twitter.com/2vx8t9Bh3m
— Jon peltz (@JonnyPeltz) December 13, 2023
Police ordered everyone off the freeway but of course the protesters just kept bleating. Meanwhile, increasingly angry drivers were getting out of their cars to shout at the protesters.
A motorcycle drove through the protest line – nobody injured or hit as far as I could tell – and people have left their cars irate to argue with the protesters. One man throws at traffic cone at the menorah: pic.twitter.com/vRuFtddBUW
— Jon peltz (@JonnyPeltz) December 13, 2023
Among the many people trapped behind the protest were two school buses.
Two school buses full of children were stuck on 110 freeway for over an hour, during a Wednesday morning roadway protest calling for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war pic.twitter.com/domuskcGL5
— KCAL News (@kcalnews) December 13, 2023
You can see the school buses in this overhead shot:
BREAKING: Pro Palestinian protestors shut down the southbound 110 freeway, which runs through Downtown Los Angeles. I'm just wondering, is this the best way? What if someone is rushing to the hospital, airport, work, or get their kids? WATCH pic.twitter.com/Hr6LRhCzG5
— Simon Ateba (@simonateba) December 13, 2023
More police arrived but by now the commuters are getting angry and impatient.
One man has started pushing protesters and a motorcyclist is revving his engine at them: pic.twitter.com/DtaF5V0jIA
— Jon peltz (@JonnyPeltz) December 13, 2023
Commuters start manhandling some of the protesters who aren’t sitting anymore. The police intervene just as things are getting out of hand. They warn that anyone standing on the freeway is now subject to arrest.
Some commuters began physically pushing and grappling protesters on the 110 freeway.
Protestors calling for a ceasefire in Gaza shutdown the 110 freeway in Los Angeles during rush hour pic.twitter.com/81VGPR4UhL
— Sergio Olmos (@MrOlmos) December 13, 2023
CHP just announced that all people on the freeway southbound as well as *specifically* all members of the media are in violation of the law and subject to the arrest immediately.
I asked for a clarification from an officer RE: media – who said that I was breaking the law. pic.twitter.com/QuPOMuM25E
— Jon peltz (@JonnyPeltz) December 13, 2023
The protesters refused to move and so police wound up arresting 75 people.
Shortly before 10 a.m., CHP officers began approaching the protesters individually, tying their hands with zip-ties and taking them into custody without incident. After being detained, the activists were each placed in one of the two-dozen Highway Patrol cruisers and cargo vans that were parked on the freeway.
The CHP later confirmed that 75 people involved in the protest were arrested.
Southbound traffic was backed up past Dodger Stadium and the 5 Freeway interchange as the sit-in continued. About 11:30 a.m., the Highway Patrol reopened all freeway lanes to drivers.
Some video of the arrests.
Highway patrol has started arresting protestors on the 110 freeway in Los Angeles. pic.twitter.com/dMVznz3Lfv
— Sergio Olmos (@MrOlmos) December 13, 2023
The freeway was finally reopened about 2 1/2 hours after the protesters shut it down. Of course the problem is that all of these people will be quickly released, their prosecution will be dragged out, downgraded and eventually will result in nothing. Protesters have no right to exercise their rights on a busy freeway. Protests are subject to reasonable time and place restrictions but because the left keeps getting away with this sort of thing there’s no real reason for them to stop. Give each of these people a swift hearing and 60 days in jail and leftist protesters will be much less interested in playing this game.
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