San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins said her office will charge all of the protesters who were arrested after halting traffic on the Bay Bridge during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation conference in November.
In total, 80 protesters calling for a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip will face 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 public, the San Francisco District Attorney's Office announced Friday.
"While we must protect avenues for free speech, the exercise of free speech can not compromise public safety," Jenkins said in a press release. "The demonstration on the Bay Bridge that snarled traffic for hours had a tremendous impact on those who were stuck on the bridge for hours and required tremendous public resources to resolve."
According to officials, protesters who were cited and released are expected to appear for their arraignments between Monday and Friday next week.
On Nov. 16, the day of the protest, authorities said that the officers arrested 67 women and 13 men related to the demonstration. In total, 29 vehicles were towed.
Around 250 law enforcement officers—including California Highway Patrol and sheriff's deputies from Alameda and San Francisco counties—swarmed the bridge to end the four-hour traffic shutdown.
The protest marked the longest shutdown of the Bay Bridge since 2016, when activists led by a group called Black.Seed blocked westbound lanes for 96 minutes on Martin Luther King Jr. Day.