California Bill Would Increase Fines for Protesters Blocking Highways

The penalties, which could hit $1,000 for a third conviction, aim to discourage demonstrations that interfere with emergency vehicles.

Protesters hold up signs as they block the freeway during a demonstration calling for the removal of District Attorney Jackie Lacey and to defund the police in Los Angeles on July 1, 2020. Valerie Macon/AFP via Getty Images

A new bill that would increase penalties for demonstrators who obstruct freeways in California was introduced Feb. 15, a response to multiple recent highway blockings by protesters.

Proposed by Republican Assemblywoman Kate Sanchez, Assembly Bill 2742 prohibits drivers or pedestrians from obstructing a highway, including during a protest, in any manner that interferes with transit of an authorized emergency vehicle.

If the bill is passed, demonstrators obstructing traffic could face fines ranging from $200 to $500 for first convictions, $300 to $1,000 for second convictions, and $500 to $1,000 for third convictions.

“Protesters are trying to score a cheap political point or advance an agenda and, quite honesty, that can have real-world devastating consequences,” Ms. Sanchez said in an interview with ABC7.

Most recently, about 50 protesters temporarily halted traffic in both directions on the Golden Gate Bridge on the morning of Feb. 14 in response to Israel’s bombing of Rafah, a city in the Gaza Strip.

“Aren’t you sick of seeing this?” Ms. Sanchez wrote in an X post shortly after the protest. “When they shut down highways they’re preventing fire trucks from responding to emergencies, people getting to work, and parents picking up their kids at school.”

The incident came several months after around 80 protesters blocked all westbound lanes of the Bay Bridge for hours during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in November, causing massive traffic snarls for both regular commuters and emergency responders.

Police respond to protestors who shut down westbound lanes on the eastern span of the Bay Bridge during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in San Francisco on Nov. 16, 2023. Jason Henry/AFP via Getty Images

Some of the protesters are also facing charges from San Francisco District Attorney Brook Jenkins.

“While we must protect avenues for free speech, the exercise of free speech cannot compromise public safety,” Ms. Jenkins said in a statement. “The demonstration on the Bay Bridge that snarled traffic for hours had a tremendous impact on those who were stuck on the bridge and required tremendous public resources to resolve.”

The bill, co-sponsored by nine other Republicans, has not yet been assigned to a committee hearing.