FILE - Protesters stand on Interstate 5 in Eugene, Ore., some with Palestinian flags, closing the southbound lanes between Eugene and Springfield on April 15, 2024. On Jan. 23, two of the protesters participating in the blockade charged with obstructing the road are acquitted.
Courtesy of KEZI
Two of the pro-Palestinian protesters charged with obstructing Interstate 5 in Eugene last year were acquitted on Thursday.
More than 60 people were arrested last April for blocking traffic to protest the war in Gaza. Many of them took diversion deals, but others chose to go to trial, in solidarity with members they claim were singled out for harsher punishments.
The first 12 defendants were all found guilty on charges of disorderly conduct. But on Wednesday, the jury ruled in favor of two protesters for the first time.
During the trial, the defense argued that a vehicle blockade had already stopped cars before the defendants entered the roadway. Acting attorney Lauren Regan said therefore, her clients themselves weren’t blocking traffic.
The court blocked the defense from arguing that the blockade constituted a “choice of evils” by potentially reducing harm in Gaza. But Regan believes the defendants' testimonies about the issue may have helped sway the jury.
“They were going into all their activism background and how much they give to the community, and they were coming from a place of human rights and trying to reduce the suffering of people,” Regan told KLCC. “They just did a really great job of educating the jurors, really connecting with them, and developing trust.”
Defendant Salem Younes, who has also been active in protests as a student at University of Oregon, said this trial’s outcome was a collective effort.
“This feels like months of community planning and organizing finally amounting to something,” said Younes. “We could have very easily just taken the deal and gave them what they want. But we pushed back.”
In February, two more people who were arrested during the protest on I-5 are set to go on trial.
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