Detroit police: 4 arrested, 38 citations issued during pro-Palestine protest
FOX 2 (WJBK) - A pro-Palestinian protest involving about 60 vehicles led to four people being arrested and 38 citations issued, according to police.
The protest began in Dearborn around 12 p.m. on Monday, and continued east on Michigan Avenue into Detroit's Corktown.
The goal was to head to the Ambassador Bridge to hinder commerce – all as part of a global "economic blockade in solidarity with Palestine," set for April 15, according to organizers with A15.
However, protesters did not make it to the bridge.
The vehicles ignored multiple traffic control signals – leading to "traffic obstructions" and "nearly causing accidents," according to preliminary information from Detroit police. Several cars were stopped for violations.
Captured by SkyFox in Detroit on Monday, April 15, 2024
The citations were issued to drivers who blocked the intersections and lanes with their vehicles during the protest, police said. Five vehicles were impounded, and four people were arrested for "misdemeanor offenses."
Various protester vehicles were also searched by police, as captured by SkyFox.
Captured by SkyFox in Detroit on Monday, April 15, 2024
Similar demonstrations were held in Chicago, San Francisco, Brooklyn, Seattle and several other cities.
In Chicago, protesters linked arms and blocked lanes of Interstate 190 leading into O’Hare International Airport.
Traffic in the San Francisco Bay Area was snarled for hours as demonstrators shut down all vehicle, pedestrian and bike traffic on the Golden Gate Bridge and chained themselves to 55-gallon drums filled with cement across Interstate 880 in Oakland.
The Golden Gate Bridge was closed for about five hours, leading to almost 30 arrests.
Protesters marching into Brooklyn blocked Manhattan-bound traffic on the Brooklyn Bridge. In Eugene, Oregon, protesters blocked Interstate 5, shutting down traffic on the major highway for about 45 minutes.
"I'm sorry it was an inconvenience, but imagine living in Gaza right now and what they've been dealing with for the last six months," a protester in Chicago said.
AP News contributed to this report.