Scores of "Free Palestine" protesters across the United States took to the streets Monday to block major airports, highways, and bridges.
The protests, which took place in dozens of U.S. cities including San Francisco, Chicago, New York City, and Philadelphia, were organized by A15 Action, a newly formed group that worked to "Coordinate a multi-city economic blockade on April 15 in solidarity with Palestine." The group's website directs users to a "Bail and legal defense fund" hosted through ActBlue, the Democratic Party's online fundraising juggernaut.
The protesters, who organized the global event under the title A15, targeted economic "Choke points" with the express purpose of causing as much financial disruption as possible, according to their website.
Ahead of the protests, A15 said it identified "Major choke points in the economy" that it would "Blockade" to "Cause pain." The group listed more than 50 participating cities, including Chicago, where dozens of protesters shut down access to the O'Hare International Airport for nearly an hour, forcing some travelers to walk with their luggage to the airport.
Similar protests occurred in San Francisco-where protesters held up traffic on the Golden Gate Bridge-and in Oakland, Calif., where protesters blocked all lanes on Interstate 880.
At the A15 protest on Wall Street, protesters were photographed wearing Hamas bandanas and flying Hezbollah flags.
Banks located near the protest were vandalized with red spray paint and graffiti that read "Funder of Genocide" and "Free Gaza." Those protesters later blocked the Brooklyn Bridge.
Police across the country made dozens of arrests in connection with the protests, with defendants set to receive support from Community Justice Exchange.
The center acts as a "Fiscal sponsor" to a number of liberal nonprofits, allowing the groups under its umbrella to avoid registering with the IRS. Some of those groups are known for their anti-Israel activism.
For example, fiscally sponsors the Arab Resource and Organizing Center, which last year organized a "Direct action" protest that attempted to block a U.S. military ship bound for Israel from leaving a port in Washington.
"The Tides Center is as liberal and politically active as they come; its entire purpose is to create new activist groups," Scott Walter, president of the Capital Research Center, previously told the Washington Free Beacon.
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