San Francisco prosecutors initiated on Monday the process of effectively charging 80 protesters who blocked the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge in pro-Palestinian demonstrations calling for a ceasefire in Gaza last month, coinciding with the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, which was hosted in the Californian city and attended by US President Joe Biden and other world leaders. 

Seventeen people showed up in court under charges of false imprisonment, refusing to comply with a peace officer, unlawful public assembly, refusing to disperse, and obstruction of street, sidewalk, or other place open to the public. Indictments are set to proceed till February.

In a show of support to those prosecuted, hundreds of demonstrators gathered outside the court right before arraignments began, with chants and banners of "Free Free Palestine", "Biden: Ceasefire Now", and "Drop the Charges!". 

The implications of the Israeli genocide in Gaza have rippled through the US public populace, prompting mass protests and a public refusal of Israeli conduct, which is backed by the US and the Biden administration. 

The Palestinian Youth Movement's Aisha Nizar revealed that she had been arrested and charged following November's protest but affirmed her dedication to protest and relentlessly call for a ceasefire. “We are more resolute in our demands for a cease-fire than ever,” she said outside the court.

The November protest consisted of around 200 demonstrators who blocked the bridge with cars and went as far as to throw the keys into the bay as a show of determination. Authorities made dozens of arrests and towed the cars, opening the bridge again. In defense of these actions, San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins said, "While we must protect avenues for free speech, the exercise of free speech cannot compromise public safety.”

Precedents of US police arresting pro-Palestinian demonstrators exist. In Philadelphia, a mass protest that also blocked roads and incited traffic for hours resulted in the arrests of several of those participating.

Myles Snyder, a Pennsylvania State Police spokesperson, revealed that 32 arrests were made following the ceasefire protest that took place on Thursday, under charges of disorderly conduct. In Minneapolis, six demonstrators were arrested after they blocked an interstate in another ceasefire protest. 

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The US: Complicit and shameless

The arrests can be seen as a double-faced motive that the US garners. Massive calls for a ceasefire have been regarded as public pressure on the Biden administration. A group of White House interns recently accused Biden of neglecting public demands after he showed indefinite support for "Israel's" genocide in Gaza. 

The United States, one of the five permanent Security Council members, vetoed a draft resolution last week, highlighting a clear complicity in the ongoing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.

The Council, after over a month since the commencement of the brutal Israeli genocide, finally issued a collective but feeble call for humanitarian "pauses" in mid-November, following four previously rejected texts.

The recent failure of the Security Council drew condemnation from numerous countries and human rights organizations. UN Secretary-General Guterres expressed concern, stating that the authority and credibility of the Council had been "undermined".

In a press briefing last week as well, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller underlined that the United States does not feel diplomatically isolated following the adoption of the UN General Assembly resolution calling for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

Responding to questions about whether the overwhelming support for the resolution raised concerns in Washington, Miller stated unequivocally, "No, not at all."

He brushed off suggestions that the adoption of the resolution, which garnered more votes than any previous Ukraine resolutions denouncing Moscow, had any impact on the United States' diplomatic standing.

Moreover, he underlined that the US was, indeed, not feeling isolated due to being the sole major power and one among 8 other states and "Israel" that voted against the resolution.

The #UnitedNations on Tuesday demanded an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in #Gaza in light of the recent Israeli aggression on the Strip after more than three-quarters of the 193-member General Assembly backed the move, which had been vetoed by the United States in the Security… pic.twitter.com/85PLZAcjb3

— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) December 12, 2023