SAN FRANCISCO — Police on Monday arrested dozens of pro-Palestinian demonstrators for trespassing after they occupied the lobby of a San Francisco building that houses the Israeli Consulate.
Police zip-tied the hands of protesters, put them in police vans, and drove them away.
Officers arrested 69 people who refused to vacate the building, cited them, and released them from San Francisco County Jail, the San Francisco Police Department said in a statement. Another demonstrator was cited and released at the scene for the same charge, it said.
The demonstrators entered the building and occupied the lobby for several hours. The protesters posted signs on the front doors calling for an end to the Israel-Hamas war.
Police officers repeatedly ordered the demonstrators to leave before they moved in and started detaining people, the police department said.
Consul General of Israel to the Pacific Northwest Marco Sermoneta said the protesters arrived around 9 a.m. at the Financial District's high-rise but didn't enter the consulate's offices. He said his office was telling people that they might need to change their appointments.
San Francisco police officers were standing guard outside the building and told an AP journalist that it was not open to the public.
Earlier Monday, protesters had told the San Francisco Chronicle that they would not leave until they were forced to do so. Protesters inside could be heard chanting.
