San Francisco 'Golden Gate 26' protesters guilty on misdemeanors, mistrial on felony count
Jury finds Golden Gate Bridge protestors guilty of misdemeanors but not felony ixed emotions:
A San Francisco jury found 7 protestors guilty of misdemeanors for their April 15, 2024 protest that shut down the Golden Gate Bridge, but the judge declared a mistrial on the most serious felony count of conspiracy. The jury revealed that 10 jurors voted for a guilty verdict, and 2 voted for a not guilty verdict, therefore falling short of the requirement for a unanimous vote to convict.
SAN FRANCISCO - A San Francisco jury found seven people guilty on Thursday on charges stemming from a 2024 incident on the Golden Gate Bridge where protesters stopped traffic for hours to demonstrate against the U.S. government’s support for Israel as it attacked Gaza.
Six defendants were found guilty of six misdemeanor charges: River Allen, Bhavika Anandpura, Rocky Chau, Conrad DeJesus, Sarah Ferell, and Em Tillotson.
A seventh defendant, Sara Canto, was found guilty on one additional charge of Refusal to Disperse at a Riot, for a total of seven counts.
The jury was hung on a felony charge of conspiracy and a misdemeanor trespassing charge.
The defendants found guilty of six charges face five years in the county jail. The seventh defendant faces 5 ½ years.
The seven defendants will be sentenced on Aug. 21. Prosecutors intend to set a new trial date for the deadlocked charges on July 7.
San Francisco jury deliberations
What we know:
Earlier in the day Thursday, the jury foreman told Superior Court Judge Teresa Caffese they were deadlocked on two counts, but when she asked if they were "hopelessly" deadlocked, the foreman said only on one count.
2024 Golden Gate Bridge protest
The backstory:
The charges stem from what happened on April 15, 2024, when about two dozen protesters, nicknamed the "Golden Gate 26," stopped traffic on the Golden Gate Bridge for hours to demonstrate against the U.S. government’s support for Israel as it attacked Gaza.
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Drivers were stuck waiting for law enforcement to clear the bridge and remove the activists, some of whom were bound together with PVC pipes.
While prosecutors say the case is clear-cut, the defendants argue they were acting on a moral imperative: drawing attention to the war in Gaza.
In November 2024, Judge Brendan P. Conroy dropped or reduced charges against most of the defendants after finding insufficient evidence to charge them with more serious crimes.
The seven defendants on trial faced felony charges of conspiring and restricting drivers' freedom to move for four hours.
In May, seven defendants' attorneys took turns addressing the jury, saying the protesters felt they had no choice but to take action against a war they feel was harming innocent civilians in Gaza.
"(They) never wanted to cause harm to anyone, never had any intent to break the law because there was a real, ongoing emergency they wanted to address," Deputy Public Defender Nuha Abusamra said at the time.
The Source: Court hearing, prior KTVU reporting, San Francisco DA Brooke Jenkins