As pro-Hamas protesters continue their antics of blocking traffic to unsuccessfully drum up support for a ceasefire in the war with Israel, angry motorists are taking matters into their own hands.
One driver in New York City had enough as his path to Brooklyn was blocked by demonstrators who seemed to have the freedom to obstruct traffic with no immediate consequences. More than 300 protesters were eventually arrested in the Big Apple Monday.
Outbound traffic at the Holland Tunnel and the side entrances in Manhattan to the Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Williamsburg bridges were blocked by the protesters Monday, earning the sympathy of none of the frustrated commuters.
The reason they do these things in NYC and LA is because they know authorities in those cities will allow them to terrorize people with few consequences. https://t.co/IRrp8VBUB0
— AG (@AGHamilton29) January 8, 2024
But one father emerged as a hero when a video caught the moment he stepped out of his car when reasoning with the demonstrators to move out of the way proved unsuccessful.
“You’re disrupting traffic!” he angrily told those near his open window. “You can’t do that! It’s against the law!”
When that proved pointless, the unidentified man stepped out of his car to persuade the demonstrators differently.
A dad gets out of his car and confronts cease fire protesters who were blocking traffic to the Brooklyn Bridge.
“I have a daughter in Brooklyn!“ pic.twitter.com/wAyuVLQzsj
— Yashar Ali 🐘 (@yashar) January 8, 2024
“I’m gonna have to start throwing fists at y’all, I’m not gonna run you over… get away from my car,” he said as he shoved those standing directly in front of his car.
“Get away from my car, I have a daughter in Brooklyn!” He shouted as the demonstrators held their positions.
Eventually, he got back into his car and began driving forward, warning those who continued to block him, “Get out of the way, I have to get home.”
“Cops eventually started unlinking the pro-Palestine demonstrators at the Brooklyn Bridge, who strapped their arms together with metal tubes, concrete and tires in their latest attempt to demand a ceasefire in Israel’s invasion of the Gaza Strip,” Daily Mail reported.
NOW: Arrested protesters from Brooklyn Bridge chant “out of Syria, out of Iraq, out of Palestine, don’t come back” as they wait to be transferred. pic.twitter.com/y74AQ4Y29G
— BreakThrough News (@BTnewsroom) January 8, 2024
“Officers rounded up the cuffed protesters and lined them up in single file before hoisting them onto a MTA bus to be processed,” the outlet reported. “NYPD Chief John Chell said 325 people were arrested on Monday after blocking the bridges about 9.40am, until they were cleared out by 11.15am.”
“In lieu of summons, many protestors will face misdemeanor charges with a desk appearance ticket,” he said.
Meanwhile, the frustrated father trying to get to Brooklyn made it through the human barricade and earned the admiration of those on social media.
I want to applaud how this gentleman handled this situation. He was obviously enraged( rightfully so) did not lose himself to the point of harming anyone, but he made it clear that these selfish mercenaries weren’t going to stop him.
— Chaskel Bennett (@ChaskelBennett) January 8, 2024
Team dad all the way
— April Ann (@ethereal226) January 8, 2024
Good for him. If the government and public safety officers don’t do their job, ordinary citizens need to enforce order.
— Bill Cornog (@CornogBill) January 8, 2024
Making people late for work / family obligation / appointments is not going to generate sympathy for a cause. People’s lives are hard – and these folks in traffic are not the kind of people that make American foreign policy
— ilium55.bsky.social (@ilium55) January 8, 2024
I don’t agree with the action of “run them over”, however any reasonable hardworking parent understands the sentiment.
— Det. Andy Sipowicz 👴🏻 (@Sipowicz1042) January 8, 2024
It’s a shame that a Dad, blocked from picking his daughter up from school, had to get out of his car to get these yahoos to stop blocking traffic. Where the heck were the police?!?!
— Helene Miller Walsh (@Helene731) January 9, 2024