Protesters involved in Eugene freeway shutdown in support of Palestinians face charges

Fifty-two people arrested Monday after walking into the southbound lanes of Interstate 5 in Eugene and halting traffic as part of a protest in support of Palestinians have been arraigned on charges of second-degree disorderly conduct.

Each defendant is charged with unlawfully and recklessly creating a risk of public inconvenience, annoyance and alarm by obstructing vehicular or pedestrian traffic on Interstate 5, a public way, according to documents filed in Lane County Circuit Court.

Two individuals were additionally charged with conspiracy and second-degree theft.

The group had joined a coordinated effort organized as part of a global "A15 Economic Blockade," a nationwide campaign calling on supporters to go out on April 15 and call on U.S. officials to stop supplying arms to Israel and end the ongoing conflict in Gaza.

The nationwide protests were designed to be staged at local "choke points" in the economy, with a focus on points of production and circulation to cause the most economic impact in each state, according to social media pages and websites advertising the campaign.

"While I support the right to protest and engage in free speech, I do not condone shutting down a major transportation corridor especially when it places people in danger," said Randy Groves, a city councilor in Eugene, in a statement on Facebook.

More than 100 police officers from multiple local and state agencies responded to the incident while traffic on the interstate was stopped for 45 minutes.

"Shutting down this southbound corridor blocks emergency vehicles including ambulances that may be transporting critically ill or injured patients to Peace Health River Bend, a major regional medical center and our region's designated trauma center," Groves said.

According to Oregon State Police, demonstrators were given multiple lawful orders to disperse before dozens of people were arrested. At least one individual was discovered to be in possession of a firearm but none of the individuals arrested were charged with any firearm-related crimes.

As of Tuesday afternoon, all 52 protesters were in custody at Lane County Jail.

Haleigh Kochanski is a breaking news and public safety reporter for The Register-Guard. You may reach her at HKochanski@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: 52 charged in Oregon freeway closure in support of Palestinians