Gaza war protesters block bridges, airport expressways in U.S. cities

April 15 (UPI) -- Hundreds of protesters blocked traffic in cities throughout the United States on Monday, to protest Israel's war in Gaza.

Demonstrators, carrying signs that said "Stop the world for Gaza," shut down San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge for five hours during the morning commute, while protesters blocked traffic heading into Seattle-Tacoma International Airport during the afternoon.

New York City police officers arrested protesters who stopped traffic on the Brooklyn Bridge. And 40 people were arrested at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport after blocking traffic to the airport with signs that said "Stop sending bombs."

"O'Hare International Airport is one of the largest in the country, and there will be NO business as usual while the United States green-lights the genocide of Palestinians," the group Chicago Dissenters wrote Monday in a post on X, showing them linked across the expressway.

In San Francisco, the Golden Gate Bridge was shut down during the morning commute, starting at about 7:30 a.m. local time until about 12:15 p.m., according to the California Highway Patrol, adding more protests in Oakland shut down another major freeway.

"The California Highway Patrol has been actively engaged in the de-escalation of multiple ongoing protests in the Bay Area this morning, including on the Golden Gate Bridge," the CHP said in a post on Facebook.

"Officers responded to each location and determined protesters had utilized various devices intended to impede law enforcement's ability to remove protesters, including 55-gallon drums filled with concrete," according to the CHP. Officers were able to remove the devices from the Golden Gate Bridge and Interstate 880 in Oakland and "take those involved into custody."

During the afternoon commute in Seattle, Washington State Department of Transportation cameras picked up several vehicles blocking the expressway to the airport, forcing traffic to backup and desperate travelers to abandon their cars to make their flights.

Port of Seattle police moved in quickly to tow protesters' vehicles. Officers made 46 arrests as protesters locked their arms together in a formation called "sleeping dragon."

Demonstrators said they targeted Monday, which is Tax Day, as part of a "global call for an economic blockade" to Israel's ongoing war against Hamas in Gaza.

"Our government continues to use our tax money to fund the genocide we are witnessing on our screens," they said in a post.