After pro-Palestine protesters briefly blocked an SF Central Freeway onramp Monday afternoon, the protesters were back at it Tuesday morning, shutting down an intersection at Market and Montgomery streets.
On Monday afternoon, a large ceasefire protest at Civic Center marched up and blocked the Central Freeway's Octavia Boulevard onramp for about an hour. Another group followed up on that Tuesday morning, as NBC Bay Area reports that another pro-ceasefire protest was blocking the intersection at Market and Montgomery Streets. Traffic continued flowing on Market Street, but as of 11 am Tuesday morning, the protest had shut down a block at Montgomery and Post streets.
🚨‼️ A coalition of unions, organizers, and folks on the ground in San Francisco are here to tell @SenAlexPadilla & @Senlaphonza— CEASEFIRE NOW! https://t.co/rUsC5QJWJf
— Bay Area Palestine Solidarity (@Bay4Palestine) February 20, 2024
As seen above, the protest is aimed specifically at California Senators Laphonza Butler and Alex Padilla. Last week, both voted in favor of a $95 billion aid package that funded not only Israeli defense, but also that of Ukraine and Taiwan. That bill, however, may not even get a vote in the Republican-controlled House.
This week, @SenAlexPadilla and @SenLaphonza return to CA after voting to send another $14b to fund Israel's genocide in Gaza. Rather than fund our communities' needs - housing, healthcare, education - Padilla & Butler are spending BILLIONS on mass death and displacement ❌❌ pic.twitter.com/MhpisAiUe8
— AROC #FreePalestine (@AROCBayArea) February 20, 2024
And the protest is pointedly directed at Senator Butler. Her San Francisco office is located in the One Post building, and a handful of protesters blocked the doors to that building Tuesday morning.
Dozens of protestors have shut down the intersection of Market & Montgomery and surrounding streets to call for a ceasefire to the war in Gaza. 16 protestors are locked down to a table blocking the intersection while around another dozen block the entrance to the One Post bldg. pic.twitter.com/IYNQkaVE3X
— Ginger Conejero Saab (@gingerconejero) February 20, 2024
But most of the action was on the streets, as NBC Bay Area reported that sixteen protesters had locked themselves to a table in the street, meant to be symbolic of getting Butler and Padilla to come to the table and hear the perspective of ceasefire advocates. Some of the protesters said they don’t mind the risk of arrest.
“Those arrests are actually inspirational,” said SF activist Brandon Lee, who is quadriplegic, speaking to the network. “We don’t want business as usual. We will keep showing up and disrupting as needed.”
Walking back from jury duty. Another Gaza protest shuts Montgomery at Market. pic.twitter.com/7Ad0sWKbcf
— Dan Noyes (@dannoyes) February 20, 2024
Well, they’ve shown up two days in a row, and it’s a fair bet they will probably show up for a third consecutive day on Wednesday. President Joe Biden is swinging through San Francisco for a couple of fundraisers Wednesday, according to the Chronicle. Though one of those fundraisers is reportedly happening at the Gordon Getty mansion, so don’t expect the protesters to get very close.
Related: Activists Hang Giant ‘Let Gaza Live’ Banner From SF's Coit Tower [SFist]
Image: @AROCBayArea via Twitter