On April 18th, “I lost one day’s pay,” “I missed my flight,” “I canceled my appointment to go to the hospital,” and “It was painful because I couldn’t go to the bathroom.” These are the protests that took place on the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, California, on the 15th to show solidarity with the Palestinian autonomous region in Gaza This is the voice of discontent posted on . In this photo, police clash with demonstrators calling for an end to attacks on Gaza in New York on the 12th (2024 Reuters / Jeenah Moon)
[１８日 ロイター] – “I lost a day’s pay,” “I missed my flight,” “I canceled my appointment to go to the hospital,” and “It was painful because I couldn’t go to the bathroom.”
These are the protests that took place on the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, California, on the 15th to show solidarity with the Palestinian autonomous region in Gaza This is the voice of discontent posted on . Local authorities arrested 26 people. A spokesman for the San Francisco Attorney’s Office said it has not yet decided whether charges will be filed.
Such protests have also taken place outside the San Francisco Bay Area, where organizers say there have been several traffic-blocking demonstrations since fighting between Israel and Hamas began in Gaza last October. Just to be clear, I’m not focusing on the claims of the protesters here, but on the legal rights of those involved.
Jeff Wozniak, a San Francisco lawyer who is a member of the National Bar Association and who volunteers to defend those arrested, acknowledged the confusion, but said blocking bridges and highways was a “life or death situation. He said it a way to draw people’s attention to “related issues.”
But while the demonstrations have drawn attention, protesters may also face potential lawsuits from motorists who claim they have lost time and money.
Coincidentally, on the 15th, the US Supreme Court ruled in a lawsuit stemming from the 2016 Black Lives Matter demonstrations in Baton Rouge, where organizers announced the demonstrations. The court issued a ruling that opened the door to a wider range of civil lawsuits against individuals. .
In this lawsuit, a police officer who was hit in the head by a rock thrown by a demonstrator sued the organizers of the demonstration for negligence. The organizers argued that they were protected by the rights of freedom of speech and assembly granted by the First Amendment to the US Constitution, and that they were not liable for negligence, but the appeals court rejected their claim. The Supreme Court also did not approve the review of the appellate court’s decision and ruled that a trial can go ahead.
“The goal of these lawsuits is to prevent people from participating in protests for fear of being held accountable if something happens,” the organizers said in a statement.
But Ted Frank, co-founder of the Hamilton Lincoln Law Institute, said preventing illegal activity during protests can be helpful. He said the protesters’ tactic of blocking roads was “disgusting and illegal” and that he was preparing a district court case seeking monetary damages and injunctive relief. He acknowledged that some protesters were unable to pay and said the legal action was also aimed at preventing future road closures. He plans to file a lawsuit in a Washington, DC, court by summer.
Regarding the First Amendment implications of this lawsuit, he argued, “Citizens have the right to disobey, and part of that includes facing the consequences of their actions.”
Meanwhile, Sonya Mayerson-Knox, executive director of the Jewish anti-Zionist group Voice for Peace, criticized class action lawsuits as “suppressing social voices.” “Litigation to censor and silence the First Amendment right to protest would destroy a vital element of our democracy.”
However, Wozniak’s lawyer said protesters are aware of the risks of being arrested and facing criminal charges, and it remains to be seen whether such lawsuits will be effective or deter future protests . In most cases, the charges are dismissed, or the person is sentenced to community service or fined.
Wozniak said the filing of civil lawsuits against demonstrators was “an attempt to throw cold water on free speech” and that activists had been taking to the streets to draw public attention to their cause The country has a decades-long history of using blockade tactics .
That is true, of course, but the tactics of the demonstrators have evolved in recent years.
For example, when Wall Street was closed in New York in 1988 due to demonstrations calling for more money for AIDS research, the police easily removed the demonstrators and dragged away the non-resisting demonstrators.
Things are different now. According to the California Highway Patrol, protesters who took positions on the Golden Gate Bridge on the 15th chained themselves inside parked cars. This method, which involves placing an arm in a PVC or metal pipe with a bolt through it and using a carabiner to attach the body to the bolt, is known as the “sleeping dragon.” Former police officers say it takes equipment and special expertise to safely remove devices from people tied in this way.
(The author is a columnist for Reuters. This column is written based on the author’s personal opinion.)
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