On April 15, two groups erected roadblocks on major transportation arteries in the San Francisco Bay Area. One of them took over the 880 freeway in Oakland during the morning commute hours. Simultaneously, the second group stopped traffic on the iconic Golden Gate Bridge between San Francisco and Marin Counties.

The action was called by the A15 global movement whose mission was stated on their official website: “The global economy is complicit in genocide. Join participating cities in blocking the arteries of capitalism and jamming the wheels of production.” While the “genocide”they are alleging—the idea that Israel is murdering Gazans en mass to eradicate them—is pure fiction, obstructing major commercial routes like airports, bridges, and freeways undermines Western civilization and endangers our way of life.

A15 is not some kind of a spontaneously-formed grassroots outfit. This group’s “Bail & Legal Defense Fund” is handled by Community Justice Exchange, itself a part of the Tides Foundation. The latter is funded by George Soros’s Open Society Foundation as well as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Ford Foundation.

The call for economic blockades aligns with Soros’s anti-American and anti-capitalist agenda. Although A15 was more of an annoyance than a real obstacle to free trade — unlike, for instance, the Houthies who earned the admiration of the pro-Palestinian camp by halting Red Sea commerce — if left unmolested, their effectiveness may grow with time.

I previously argued that since he who controls the roads controls the country, any restriction on the free movement of citizens imposed by a political party is a warlording move. It doesn’t matter if the mobs in question use violent or non-violent tactics or, as is the case with A15 activists, cloak their actions in the shroud of “free expression.” While the militants have the right to speak, their passion for spreading blood libels does not trump my freedom of movement.

Although the A15 action was explicitly political, mostly unauthorized street and bridge closures across the Bay Area are not overtly ideological. Weekend sideshows that attract young people to gawk at car stunts are regular events here, ostensibly conducted purely for recreation, and often ending in beatings, shootings and the destruction of property. There is a familiar racial undertone—typically sideshows involve black and Latino young men wrecking havoc on inner city neighborhoods.

Sideshows are apolitical disruptions of movement—albeit the last such event on the Bay Bridge involved a man waving a Palestinian flag. That the lumpen proletariat is apparently siding with NGO activists on Israel should not come as a surprise to anyone reading the recent polls. Oakland is a solid Democrat stronghold and, led by their far left vanguard, ‘mainstream’ Democrats recently switched sides on this issue.

Although political and recreational road blocks are likely the work of different mobs, since the election of Donald Trump in 2016, both became an increasingly regular feature of life in the Bay Area. They rose in popularity during the COVID closures and ensuing BLM riots. The election of Soros DA Pamela Price in the East Bay Area’ Alameda County contributed to the culture of lawlessness of which sideshows are one manifestation. Because a sizable number of locals have finally had enough of criminality, Price is now facing recall.

The situation is better across the Bay where Brook Jenkins replaced recalled Soros DA Chesa Boudin in a special election in 2022. Jenkins charged the 78 individuals who closed off the Bay Bridge for an anti-Israel protest in November 2023 with offenses punishable with up to a year of incarceration. Unfortunately, the judge substituted serious punishment for five hours of community service and $4,500 in restitution. My bet is that community service will be done through the very NGO’s that plotted the disruption and a generous donor will cover restitution.

Still, it’s worth noting that the antizionist group has yet to block the Bay Bridge again. Instead, they go for the much more narrow and less essential Golden Gate Bridge.

San Francisco judges are notorious for dismissing criminal cases, including drug dealing, and the city has been suffering as a result. At this point, there is not a lot of awareness among the voting public about the role the judges play in turning this once beautiful city into a dystopian hellhole. In March, law-and-order minded candidates failed to unseat the incumbent judges.

Nevertheless, Jenkins is showing a willingness to penalize the individuals involved in blockades of public roads. The day after April 15, she announced that she would be pressing charges against the twenty-six arrested on Golden Gate Bridge for “unlawful shut down [of] traffic [that] trapped hundreds of people.”

The district attorney further explained that the group was “booked into custody on multiple misdemeanor charges and a single felony charge of conspiracy. Because they were booked on a felony charge and are currently in custody, a charging decision is due today by 4PM. That timeline did not give CHP enough time to complete the investigation.”

Jenkins vowed to continue investigation, adding “Anyone who was detained against their will (falsely imprisoned) on the Golden Gate Bridge on April 15, 2024 is urged to contact the CHP.” She explained that the drivers trapped on the bridge have victim rights under Marsy’s law.

Marsy’s law or the California Victims Bill of Rights was approved by voters in 2008. It amended the state constitution to give victims options to address grievances against offenders by using state power.

Since many Americans are expressing anger at the unlawful detentions on the roadways, California governor Gavin Newsom felt obliged to weigh in. His account posted “Thank you, @BrookeJenkinsSF. Free speech is critical, but it does not extend to endangering the public. People need to be held accountable for their actions.”

If Newsom, who is on everyone’s shortlist to replace the increasingly incoherent Joe Biden as a Democrat presidential candidate, intends to hold our warlording NGO minions accountable, he can lead the California Democrat supermajority in passing laws that would mandate meaningful punishment for these individuals. This way district attorneys can file charges needed to protect the public.

With Jenkins, San Franciscans have a DA willing to throw the book at the law-breakers. Unfortunately, the book is full of blank pages, and the judges are given the ability to overlook some of the worst transgressions. More needs to be done to restore peace and public safety in the Bay Area.

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