NYPD arrests agitators who blocked bridges, tunnels in protest of Israel-Hamas war

The New York City Police Department eventually managed to get things moving again, clearing the blockades from the Brooklyn Bridge, Midtown Tunnel, and Holland Tunnel. 13 people were arrested, and eight cars were seized.

"What could be worse than normal Monday morning traffic?" NYPD Deputy Commissioner Kaz Daughtry wrote in a post on X. "Groups of people intentionally trying to shut down the bridges and tunnels of New York - making your commute longer, blocking emergency vehicles and grinding the city to a halt."

"Traveling along NYC roadways can be challenging enough without the additional disruption intentionally caused by protestors," he added in a separate post later on in the morning. "More than an inconvenience, it is a public safety hazard."

Daughtry stated that while the NYPD "will always do all it can to keep things moving," he believed the time had come "for our elected officials to make blocking a main thoroughfare like a bridge or a tunnel a felony!"

This is far from the first time pro-Palestinian agitators have wreaked havoc on the roadways of the Big Apple. In January, for example, 120 were arrested after blocking the Brooklyn Bridge, Manhattan Bridge, Williamsburg Bridge, and Holland Tunnel in the name of "ceasefire" between Israel and Iranian-backed Palestinian terrorist organization Hamas.

Protests have also hit Times Square, Grand Central Terminal, Penn Station, and other hotspots. The targeting of major transportation hubs is meant to disrupt people from going about their daily business, with organizers and participants hoping it will force them to pay attention to their cause.