Fights Break Out And 75 Arrested As ‘Ceasefire’ Protest Shuts Down Major LA Freeway

Dozens of protesters shut down one of the busiest freeways in Los Angeles on Wednesday, causing huge traffic jams and resulting in multiple altercations and arrests in a demonstration over ceasefire demands from the protest group IfNotNow.

The demonstration organized by IfNotNow, which demands the United States halt support for Israel and has organized other controversial demonstrations , began during rush hour on Wednesday morning, and was quickly caught on thousands of cameras and by news organizations including KTLA and KCAL.

Aerial and on the ground footage from the event shows the group of demonstrators blocking the 110 downtown LA Freeway chanting “ceasefire now!” along with a banner reading, “Permanent Ceasefire: Equality, Justice, Safety For All.”

Drivers became so frustrated that some began to exit their vehicles and confront the protesters resulting in both verbal and physical confrontations. Police had to intervene before things escalated further.

IfNotNow addressed the protest in their own posts on social media.

“As Jews, we cannot sit by as the people of Gaza are starved and slaughtered [in] our name. And as Americans, we can’t let Biden & Congress send billions more in funding for Israeli war crimes. We have shut down the freeway to call for a #CeasefireNOW, which 66% of Americans support,” the group said in a statement posted to X.

California Highway Patrol ended up 75 75 individuals and traffic began moving on the freeway around 10:30 a.m., KTLA reported.

Watch the clips above via KTLA, KCAL, NewsNation and elsewhere.