Gaza war protesters shut down 405 Freeway during morning commute

A group of demonstrators blocked part of the 405 Freeway in Los Angeles during Tuesday morning’s commute.

The group appeared on the southbound side of the freeway near National Boulevard in LA’s Westside around 9 a.m.

According to California Highway Patrol (CHP) Officer Mike Naser, the freeway was shut down at National Boulevard as of 9:10 a.m. but was completely reopened just over an hour after the protest started.

Motorists were advised to get off at Olympic Boulevard and divert to the 10 Freeway while the protesters blocked traffic.

Sky5 footage shows CHP officers detaining several demonstrators, who are part of a coalition of American Jews and allies, according to a press release from IfNotNowLA, which dubs itself “a movement of anti-Apartheid American Jews working to end our community’s support for the Israeli occupation of Palestine.”

Video posted to IfNotNowLA’s Instagram page at 9:35 a.m. shows CHP officers detaining multiple people as other demonstrators chanted and marched along the shoulder.

More video posted to the Citizen app showed a massive traffic backup starting to build.

According to IfNotNowLA, the protesters shut down the freeway in protest of the United States’s support for Israel’s assault on Gaza.

The demonstration comes on Tisha B’Av, an annual fast day in the Jewish religion considered “the saddest day on the Jewish calendar.”

A total of eight arrests were made, CHP confirmed to KTLA, adding that there were around 40 protesters, most of whom left on foot when police arrived.

IfNotNowLA is part of the larger IfNotNow movement. More information about the group can be found here.

Sofia Pop Perez contributed to this report.