RICHMOND, Va. -- When Free Palestine protesters blocked travel lanes along I-95 in Richmond, Virginia, during the Monday morning commute, one woman found herself at the front of the miles-long traffic backup. Stuck in traffic, she got out of her car and started a livestream on Facebook.
"I have no idea how, but they climbed up the side of the bridge with ladders, ran across the interstate, and have been blocking all lanes of traffic on 95 southbound," she said during the 11-minute live stream in which she said she's been stuck in traffic for 30 minutes. "Now they're laying on the ground the state police have no idea what to do."
But, it turned out, Virginia State Police had a plan to remove the protesters from the interstate and get traffic moving again.
At 7:09 a.m., state police declared an Unlawful Assembly.
A Virginia State Police spokesperson said the state police extrication team was called and they disconnected the protesters from their "sleeping dragon maneuver."
"Specially-trained troopers arrived on scene to safely extricate the remaining six protesters from the sleeping dragon devices, which turned out to be large PVC piping wrapped in chicken wire and connected via a large metal chain," a Virginia State Police spokesperson wrote in an email about the situation. "The six were then taken into custody without further incident and transported off the interstate. By approximately 10:30 a.m., the scene was cleared and the final southbound lane reopened to through traffic."
Six of the nine Free Palestine protesters spent Monday in Richmond jail before their bail hearing Tuesday morning when they were all released facing various charges. Most are due back in court for a May 20 trial.
The protesters said they blocked traffic to raise awareness for their causes which include a cease-fire in Gaza amid the Israel-Hamas War.
This is a developing story, so anyone with more information can email newstips@wtvr.com to send a tip.
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