Advocates speak out after pro-Palestine protesters arrested in Chicago
Advocates speak out after pro-Palestine protesters arrested in Chicago
Chicago police arrested 40 Palestine supporters outside O'Hare Airport Monday morning and broke up hundreds of protesters downtown just hours later. Advocates are speaking out against their arrests. Chicago was just one of many major cities disrupted by protesters Monday.
CHICAGO - Advocates are speaking out after dozens of pro-Palestine protesters were arrested outside O'Hare Airport.
Monday morning's protest caused traffic jams and delayed travelers for hours, forcing some to walk to their terminal from Interstate 190 to catch their flights on time.
Protests also got out of control downtown on Monday afternoon.
The Chicago Coalition for Justice in Palestine and the US Palestinian Community Network (USPCN) say these protesters were showing they don't want their tax dollars going towards funding the war.
"The fact that we were practicing our constitutional rights, our right to free speech, our right to condemn our government for its support of Israel's massacres and genocide of the Palestinian people," said Hatem Abudayyeh, USPCN National Chair. "That's why we're going to be making this argument – not just in court, we're going to be making it to the City Council and to the mayor's office."
Officers had to make multiple arrests throughout the day. The protesters have since been released.
Protesters across the country set out to disrupt traffic by protesting for Palestine on major roadways. Police in Seattle arrested more than 40 pro-Palestinian protesters near the Seattle-Tacoma Airport on Monday. That caused delays for several hours while police removed the protesters.
In San Francisco, protesters used cement barrels to block traffic on the Golden Gate Bridge. It took some time for officers to clear the area and traffic was backed up for miles.