Lawyer offers to sue pro-Hamas agitators who blocked Seattle roadways on behalf of motorists who were trapped for hours

Ted Frank, a lawyer with the Hamilton Lincoln Law Institute, on Monday, wrote on X, “If you were trapped on I-5 because of the illegal acts of pro-Hamas protestors, you have legal rights for civil damages. You should consult with an attorney. The attorneys at @HamLincLaw, including me, would love to bring this kind of suit. My DMs are open.”

Frank told The Ari Hoffman Show on Talk Radio 570 KVI, “It's false imprisonment. You're not allowed to illegally block a highway and trap somebody in their car for hours, or even any length of time. And there is a cause of action.”

Pro-Hamas activists flooded Northbound I-5 in downtown Seattle on Saturday and kept traffic, including ambulances, at a standstill for 6 hours.

Law enforcement did not make any arrests.

The actions of the Washington State Patrol, the agency that has jurisdiction over the freeways, have also been called into question, with many asking if stand-down orders were given by state, county or city officials, as activists were allowed to block the freeway for over 3 hours.

Activists celebrated their success on social media and the lack of arrests.

Frank added, “It's terrible that the city and the state aren't enforcing the laws, but there's still civil injury here and the common law permits these sorts of suits, and let's have discovery. Let's see who's supporting these organizations, who's supporting the autonomous collective that comes in and hands out yellow vests and what liability do they have, and if we can put them out of business the way that litigation put out of business the Nazis in Idaho and 20 years ago, that's good for everybody.”

The city, state, and law enforcement are already facing a lawsuit stemming from protestors occupying a freeway.

During the 2020 George Floyd riots in Seattle, WSP was ordered to allow BLM and Antifa activists to block the freeway during the deadly occupation of the city’s Capitol Hill neighborhood. Rather than preventing the protestors from blocking the freeway, the WSP was ordered to close the freeway at a set time each night for the activists, despite the danger and traffic delays.

During one of the closures, Dawit Kelete broke one of the state patrol’s blockades and drove onto the closed freeway, fatally striking activist Summer Taylor, 24, and seriously injuring Diaz Love, 32. He was sentenced to 6 and a half years in prison.

Hours after the fatal collision, WSP discontinued the dangerous policy, but Taylor's and Love’s families, as well as other activists, filed lawsuits against Seattle, Washington State, and law enforcement for failing to protect them.

Frank said, “At a minimum, we can get an injunction barring people from doing this, and then when they still block the streets, now it's not just up to the police… it's criminal contempt and judges don't like it when you ignore their court orders.”