The trial that opened Wednesday in San Francisco Superior Court is, on its surface, about whether nonviolent civil disobedience can carry a decade-plus prison sentence. But its most consequential legal moment came before opening statements: Jenkins's office moved to bar the word "genocide" from the courtroom, a motion that would have gutted the defendants' core defense that they acted to stop a crime against humanity. Judge Teresa Caffese refused. The case now pits the DA's hard line against both that ruling and a glaring proportionality problem — protesters who shut the Bay Bridge in 2023 were offered five hours of community service.

Should protesters engaging in nonviolent civil disobedience face prison terms stretching over a decade? That is the question a San Francisco jury began weighing Wednesday, when opening statements started in the trial of seven people who blockaded the Golden Gate Bridge on an April 15, 2024, pro-Palestine protest, bringing all southbound lanes to a standstill for more than four hours.

The San Francisco district attorney's office has charged the seven with felonies: six face up to 14 years in prison, and one faces 15, according to Mission Local's trial coverage. They were charged in August 2024 alongside 19 others, most of whom faced misdemeanors and saw their cases dismissed or diverted.

"This case is simple," Assistant District Attorney Angela Roze told the jury, after playing video of the blockade. "The evidence that you see is exactly what the defendants did. There is no question that they obstructed a thoroughfare." She added: "While you may agree with their cause, and it may be an important one, it does not excuse breaking the law."

The defense built its opening around intent. "Bhavika wasn't there to commit a crime," said attorney Shaffy Moeel, representing defendant Bhavika Anandpura. "She was there to prevent a crime … a crime against humanity." Public defender Nuha Abusamra, representing River Allen, told jurors: "There was no legal alternative at this point. It was time for civil disobedience."

That argument only survives because of a pretrial ruling that has gone largely unremarked. Earlier this month, the DA's office moved to bar the word "genocide" from the courtroom — a motion that would have hollowed out the defense's contextual case. Judge Teresa Caffese rejected it, ruling the word could be used so long as it pertained to the charges and evidence.

The official making the call

The prosecution is the work of District Attorney Brooke Jenkins, who announced the charges in an August 12, 2024, press release. "While we must protect avenues for free speech, the exercise of free speech can not compromise public safety," Jenkins said then. "The demonstration on the Golden Gate Bridge caused a level of safety risk, including extreme threats to the health and welfare of those trapped, that we as a society cannot ignore or allow."

What the release did not mention: Jenkins's office had initially declined to file charges, and the demonstrators were released after their arrest, before new arrest warrants were issued months later, the San Francisco Standard reported.

The disparity

The severity stands in sharp relief against precedent. When protesters shut down the Bay Bridge during the November 2023 APEC summit, 78 of those charged accepted a judge's pre-plea diversion offer requiring five hours of community service within two months, plus restitution — the protesters said they expected to pay a collective maximum of $4,448, according to Local News Matters. No felonies. No prison exposure.

The Golden Gate Bridge case has also narrowed. The Golden Gate Bridge Highway and Transportation District sought $163,000 in restitution for lost toll revenue in 2025, but dropped the demand. Dozens of false imprisonment counts have been dismissed; 10 remain.

For lead defendant Sara Cantor, the bridge's designated police liaison that day, the cost has been the two-year process itself. "There's just this sense of being beaten down by the process itself," she told the Standard. A nonprofit accountant when arrested, she has since pivoted to work as a freelance paralegal in criminal defense. The trial is expected to run through the end of July.