Protesters demanding an end to the war in Gaza blocked traffic on the Golden Gate Bridge for hours on April 15, 2024. (KTVU FOX 2)
SAN FRANCISCO - Seven protesters who were convicted last month of blocking the Golden Gate Bridge to protest aspects of the Israel-Hamas war are expected to be sentenced on Friday by a San Francisco judge.
Six protesters are facing a maximum sentence of five years, while the seventh faces up to five and a half years.
Sentencing is scheduled to take place at 1:30 p.m. A rally before the hearing is scheduled for 12:45 p.m.
In July, a San Francisco jury found River Allen, Bhavika Anandpura, Rocky Chau, Conrad DeJesus, Sarah Ferell, and Em Tillotson guilty of several misdemeanor charges of blocking the bridge on April 15, 2024, when they were part of a larger group that stopped traffic on the Golden Gate Bridge for hours to demonstrate against the U.S. government’s support for Israel as it attacked Gaza.
Drivers were stuck waiting for law enforcement to clear the bridge and remove the activists, some of whom were bound together with PVC pipes.
The jury found a seventh defendant, Sara Canto, guilty on one additional charge of refusal to disperse during a riot.
The jury was hung on a felony charge of conspiracy and a misdemeanor trespassing charge.
The case originally had 26 defendants.
In November 2024, Judge Brendan P. Conroy dropped or reduced charges against most of the defendants after finding insufficient evidence to charge them with more serious crimes.
The Source: Reporting from court