More than two dozen anti-Israel protesters who snarled traffic on San Francisco’s iconic Golden Gate Bridge were freed from jail Tuesday — because the city’s top prosecutor doesn’t have enough evidence to charge them.
District Attorney Brooke Jenkins urged drivers delayed by the hours-long gridlock to contact police so they can “be alleged as a victim” — and so she can build a case against the 26 activists who blocked cars on the bridge Monday, according to CBS News.
Jenkins said she was sending the case back to the California Highway Patrol “for further investigation” into possible false imprisonment charges.
She said drivers, some of whom sat stranded on the span for more than four hours, should get in touch with the CHP so they can seek restitution, according to the SF Gate.
“Anyone who was falsely imprisoned on the Golden Gate Bridge on April 15, 2024, is urged to contact the California Highway Patrol,” Jenkins said in a press conference Tuesday.
“We must make sure public safety is observed, and that is what we are committed to doing. But at this time we have to make sure this investigation is completed.”
Building a felony conspiracy case against the demonstrators — whose stunts included chaining themselves to cars and barrels filled with concrete — will take more time, Jenkins said.
“We have to be able to attribute specific conduct to specific individuals,” she said.
Officer Darrell Horner, a spokesperson for the CHP, said the agency has gotten reports from people who missed important health appointments and work because they were stuck in their cars.
“They were stuck on the bridge with no restrooms,” Horner told the outlet. “Several people who we talked to were late for doctor’s appointments. Nurses were late for their shifts. These are people who weren’t free to leave, and they were trapped.”
Hundreds of protesters stopped traffic for hours on major highways, including on the Brooklyn Bridge, during rush hour Monday in an effort to push for a ceasefire in Gaza.
The demonstrators were part of a global campaign dubbed the A15 Economic Blockade, which aimed to block key economic routes in multiple cities on Monday.
Jenkins was criticized as “woke” for dismissing dozens of fentanyl-related cases last year but has been far tougher on crime than her predecessor, Chesa Boudin.
