Seven protesters were sentenced to 30 days for blocking traffic on the Golden Gate Bridge during a 2024 pro-Palestinian demonstration. San Francisco Superior Court Judge Teresa Caffese handed down the sentences on Sunday, which include credit for four days already served.
The sentencing follows a July conviction where a jury found the defendants guilty of misdemeanor counts, including false imprisonment, obstruction of a thoroughfare, and unlawful assembly. The jury remained deadlocked on a more serious charge of felony conspiracy, and prosecutors stated they will not seek a retrial on that count.
According to court reports, the sentence allows the defendants to serve 15 days in county jail, while the remaining time may be served through a work release program managed by the San Francisco Sheriff’s Office. The protesters were also ordered to serve six months of probation and pay more than $1,000 in fines and restitution.
Defense attorneys argued the demonstrators acted out of a moral obligation to protest the conflict in Gaza and U.S. support for Israel after other methods, such as writing letters to Congress, proved ineffective. San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins stated that the protest created safety risks for those caught in traffic and that law breaking must carry consequences.
A person convicted under these circumstances will notice a direct financial impact of at least $1,000 in restitution and fines, along with a six-month period of probation that typically involves supervision by the court or a probation officer. The choice between jail time and a work release program means these individuals may still be able to maintain employment or community obligations while serving their sentence. This sets a specific precedent in San Francisco for how non-violent but highly disruptive infrastructure protests are handled, balancing the right to protest against public safety and movement laws.
The case also signals to future organizers the specific legal threshold for such actions in the district, where prosecutors were unable to secure a felony conviction for conspiracy despite the scale of the disruption. The seven defendants will remain free while their attorneys appeal the convictions. No specific date for the appeal hearings was reported, but the District Attorney's office has confirmed it will not pursue the unresolved felony charges further.