Protesters blocked traffic in San Francisco on Wednesday ahead of President Joe Biden’s meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Over 200 climate change and pro-Palestine demonstrators obstructed the intersection as early as 7:30 a.m., hours before the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit was set to begin, according to The San Francisco Standard.
“We’re just trying to get to work,” a man stuck at the scene told the outlet. “We’re [San Francisco] natives. We’ve got a lot going on in the city. Their cause and their fight, I understand. But I’m just trying to go to work.”
🇺🇸🇨🇳 Pro-Palestinian protests outside the APEC 2023 meeting building in San Francisco.#XiJinping #China #Biden #USA #US #America #APEC2023 #APEC #California #SanFrancisco #Palestine #protest #IsraelPalestineConflict #IsraelPalestineWar #GazaGenocide pic.twitter.com/QGRbT65wsR
— Attentive Media (@AttentiveCEE) November 15, 2023
Many drivers had to turn around due to the demonstrations, the outlet noted.
Protesters shouted “shut down APEC” as they called for a ceasefire in the ongoing conflict between Israeli and the Hamas terror group, according to the outlet. (RELATED: Megyn Kelly Says Gavin Newsom ‘Doesn’t Give Two Sh*ts’ About California Children After Cleanup For Xi)
“They have no soul. They have all this money to fund a genocide. They move homeless people. I want them to stand for something,” a protester named Maria said, per the Standard. “All they stand for is money and power.”
Police in riot gear attempted to create a path through the crowd around 8:00 a.m. after protesters surrounded a man dressed in a blue suit at an organizer’s prompting, the outlet reported.
“Some of these sneaky delegates walked past that intersection,” the organized yelled into a megaphone, according to the Standard. “If you see them in suits, shout … make it very uncomfortable.”