They protested on the Golden Gate for Gaza. The bridge wants $163K.

"The Golden Gate Bridge Highway and Transportation District is seeking $162,554 in restitution from protestors involved in a pro-Palestine demonstration that shut down traffic on the bridge in April 2024. It's the first time the bridge district has sought restitution for a traffic disruption on the Golden Gate, despite the bridge having a long history as the site of protest - a legacy that the district, in fact, commemorates on its website. "People were driving to work. They weren't planning on being stuck in the car for four hours," said Denis Mulligan, general manager for the Golden Gate Bridge District. The district, representing six counties, has authority over the Golden Gate and its respective bus and ferry systems."

"When asked why the district decided to pursue restitution for this specific protest, Mulligan cited an anti-logging protest attended by the actor Woody Harrelson in 1996 as an example of how things had changed. That protest "never blocked traffic on the bridge," he said. That protest actually delayed traffic for hours. Mulligan also cited a Black Lives Matter protest - in which thousands of protestors briefly shut down traffic along the bridge in 2020. That was "a different set of circumstances" he said, because protestors quickly complied with law enforcement when told to clear the roadway."

"Pro-Palestinian protesters aren't buying it. "It feels like a politicized attack on this particular demonstration, so demonstrations just don't happen again," said Manan Kocher, one of those who blocked the bridge on April 15 for about four hours. "The Golden Gate Bridge has been the site of protests that have moved the needle towards justice before." According to Mulligan, the restitution is intended to make up for lost toll revenue, which the district calculated by subtracting the number of cars that traveled south on the bridge on April 15 from the number of average crossings the month prior."

The Golden Gate Bridge Highway and Transportation District seeks $162,554 in restitution from protesters who shut the bridge on April 15, 2024, causing a four-hour traffic disruption. The district calculated lost toll revenue by comparing southbound crossings that day to the prior month's average. The district noted earlier protests but described the April disruption as distinct from past events that did not block traffic or where demonstrators complied with law enforcement. Protesters contend the restitution is politicized and warn it could discourage future demonstrations. The district oversees the bridge plus regional bus and ferry systems.

Read at Mission Local