Driver stuck on Golden Gate Bridge during anti-Israel protest says he lost wages needed for brother's funeral
According to local reports, 26 protesters were arrested during the hourslong demonstrations
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A Bay Area commuter harshly criticized the recent anti-Israel protest that blocked traffic on the Golden Gate Bridge for hours, calling it "such an inconvenience and very devastating" for people trying to get into San Francisco to work and make ends meet.
Ronald Davis, who commutes daily from Novato, California, to San Francisco, described to Fox News Digital the frustration he felt while forced to wait six hours on the landmark bridge as protesters chanted "Free Palestine" and blocked traffic.
"You know, a lot of us were just trying to get home or get to work or get to the doctors, or mothers trying to take their kids to school. It was such an inconvenience to all of us, and I just don't feel like that was an appropriate way to protest," Davis said.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}ANTI-ISRAEL PROTESTERS SHUT DOWN SENATE CAFETERIA; AROUND 50 ARRESTED
An anti-Israel protest held up the Golden Gate Bridge for hours on Monday. (Ronald Davis/commuter)
The Bay Area commuter described the scene at the Monday protest that caused hours of gridlock on the bridge and resulted in 26 arrests, according to local reports.
However, Davis said he didn’t believe the protesters were dealt with sufficiently and that police seemed to treat them too gently instead of cracking down and clearing the area more quickly.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"I didn't know that someone could even stop a bridge and, you know, protest," he said. "I was watching highway patrol arresting people, and then they would bring them to the corner and then uncuff them and let them go back to their vehicles freely, which was very disappointing."
Davis also said the whole scene seemed to be a waste of police resources.
"It was just like so many police officers were out here, and we took away a lot of our resources that we have just for about maybe 15 protesters," he said.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"Something could have been going on much more major. And our highway patrol is sitting in here worried about people over here protesting on a bridge," Davis added.
The arrested protesters were released from the San Francisco jail on Tuesday, NBC Bay Area News reported. District Attorney Brooke Jenkins is weighing what charges should be brought against them, though she's considering false imprisonment charges since drivers were trapped during the demonstration.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Police gather at the scene of a pro-Palestinian protest that stopped traffic on the Golden Gate Bridge for hours on Monday. (Ronald Davis/commuter)
"It's kind of unfair to everybody. I feel like they just can't get a pat on the back," Davis told Fox News Digital.
He also described how he was affected.
"I called my boss, I said, ‘Hey, there's a protest. I should be to work within an hour,’" he said. "I was on the bridge approximately from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. Everybody was very frustrated."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"I just buried my brother. I'm trying to make as much money as I can right now to still cover his funeral costs," Davis added. "Having to miss six hours of work, that's a lot of money, you know. That's pretty much a day's worth of work."
"You know, it's just such an inconvenience and very devastating," he said.
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