[Pnews] California to Begin Trial Against 7 of 26 Americans Who Protested Tax-Funded Support for Israel’s Genocide in Gaza on Golden Gate Bridge

[Prisoner News]

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California
to Begin Trial Against 7 of 26 Americans Who Protested Tax-Funded Support
for Israel’s Genocide in Gaza on Golden Gate Bridge
Quds News Network - April 30, 2026

[image: California to Begin Trial Against 7 of 26 Americans Who Protested
Tax-Funded Support for Israel’s Genocide in Gaza on Golden Gate Bridge]

California will begin trial proceedings against 7 of 26 peaceful activists
arrested during a 2024 Golden Gate Bridge protest against US support for
Israel’s genocide in Gaza. The case marks a major escalation, as felony
conspiracy charges (previously denied) now stand, despite the withdrawn
restitution claims.

California (QNN)- Seven Bay Area activists will stand trial on Thursday, in
a high-profile case linked to an anti-genocide protest on the Golden Gate
Bridge. The defendants belong to the “Golden Gate 26,” a group arrested
during a bridge protest on April 15, 2024. The jury trial will take place
at the Civic Center Courthouse and is expected to last six to eight weeks,
in a case widely described as highly politicized and marked by
disproportionate charges and penalties.

Prosecutors, led by Brooke Jenkins, filed felony conspiracy charges against
the seven defendants, alongside multiple misdemeanor counts. Authorities
originally charged all 26 protesters with a total of 44 counts each,
including dozens of false imprisonment charges. The case marked a rare
escalation, as most previous bridge protests in the Bay Area typically
resulted in minor infractions or dismissals rather than felony prosecutions.

Prosecutors initially sought nearly $200,000 in restitution, including
claims from the Golden Gate Bridge Highway and Transportation District.
However, the district later withdrew its financial claim after sustained
legal challenges and public pressure. Despite this, judges denied repeated
defense motions to reduce the felony charges, allowing the case to proceed
to trial.

The protest aimed to demand an end to the US-backed Israeli genocide in
Gaza. Demonstrators blocked traffic on the bridge, calling attention to the
humanitarian crisis as global institutions reported mass massacres and
widespread destruction in Gaza, especially during the first months of the
war.

Defendants and their legal team stress that the charges reflect political
bias and an effort to suppress dissent. Defense lawyer Shaffy Moeel
described the protest as “an act of conscience,” stressing that
participants sought to raise awareness about human suffering and to push
for accountability. Co-defendant Sara Cantor said the prosecution sends a
chilling message to those who protest government policies, warning that
criminalizing solidarity risks undermining fundamental freedoms.

Manan Kocher, a co-defendant and press coordinator, told Quds News Network
that authorities filed more than 900 combined charges against the group. He
argued that prosecutors used restitution claims and felony charges to
intimidate activists and discourage future protests. He also pointed to a
pattern, noting that similar charges have targeted pro-Palestine
demonstrators in previous bridge protests.
“Over at least the last 35 years, every Bay Area bridge protest has been
handled as an infraction and/or ultimately dismissed, until our case,” he
said, highlighting a departure from legal precedent.

Kocher further noted that DA Jenkins has taken a uniquely aggressive
approach to Palestine-related protests. He said she is “the only local DA
to charge bridge protestors with false imprisonment,” adding that both
cases involved demonstrations in solidarity with Palestinians. “While we’ve
been fighting charges of ‘false imprisonment,’ Palestinians in Gaza fight
for their lives in an actual open-air prison,” he said.

Brooke Jenkins has shown clear bias in the handling of this case and other
Palestine-related protests. She had called a rally calling for a ceasefire
in Gaza as a “pro-Hamas rally". Reports also surfaced that senior staff in
her office have expressed extreme racist anti-Palestinian views and that
some met with pro-Israel lobbying groups, including the Jewish Community
Relations Council. Jenkins’ office had also meetings with the Israeli
Consulate, raising concerns about impartiality. In September 2024, the
defense filed a motion to disqualify Jenkins and her office over bias, but
the court rejected the request.

The case unfolds amid broader debates in the United States over protest
rights, policing, and political expression. Activists say the trial could
set a precedent for how authorities handle large-scale demonstrations,
especially those tied to US wars and unlimited support for Israel.
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