Anti-Israel protesters shut down O’Hare airport by blocking highway – as video shows frustrated passengers abandoning their taxis and cars and walking 20 MINUTES to the terminal
- A group of anti-Israel protesters have blocked access to Chicago’s O’Hare Airport
- Video shows them sitting and standing while connected
- Frustrated travelers got out of their cars and walked to their terminals with their luggage
Anti-Israel protesters shut down Chicago’s O’Hare Airport as they blocked the highway and left passengers frustrated.
Around 8:23 a.m. Monday, protesters sat in the middle of the Kennedy Expressway, connected by PVC pipes, as people fled their taxis and cars and walked 20 minutes to their terminals.
Video of the protest showed demonstrators chanting, “Palestine will be free! Free, free Palestine!’ with loud drum rolls in the background.
One photo showed a long line of people blocking access to the airport.
All lanes on I-90 were blocked between Bessie Coleman Drive and the airport, but O’hare International Airport said inbound traffic on the highway has resumed.
Anti-Israel protesters closed Chicago’s O’Hare Airport as they blocked the highway and left passengers frustrated
Around 8:23 a.m. Monday, protesters sat in the middle of the Kennedy Expressway, connected by PVC pipes. They are seen with stop signs around their necks that read ‘Stop Genocide’
“Please allow extra time if you travel to the airport this morning,” the airport said in a message on X.
The protesters stopped lines of traffic as some drivers sat on top of their cars. Police vehicles were present on the scene.
Many of the protesters wore keffiyeh scarves as they chanted and waved signs reading “Free Palestine” and “Stop Genocide.”
As they chanted, angry drivers began honking their horns, while others got out of their vehicles and jumped over the guardrail to reach their flights.
The protest, organized by Chicago Dissenters, said they decided to block the airport because it is “one of the largest in the country” that should not be allowed to operate “while Palestinians suffer from American-funded bombing by Israel.” ‘
They decided to target the airport in an attempt to “disrupt Boeing’s operations” because the aircraft manufacturer is “sending fighter jets and bombs to support the Israeli bombardment of Gaza.”
“ON THIS TAX DAY THERE WILL BE NO BUSINESS AS USUAL WHILE GAZANS DIE,” the group said in an Instagram post.
An angry female traveler gave the middle finger to protesters as she walked to the airport and shouted: ‘F*** you!’
Lines of traffic have come to a standstill in front of the group as police vehicles are seen at the scene
Chicago Dissenters posted a photo of a map showing the traffic congestion on the road as they blocked traffic outside the airport Monday morning
An angry female traveler gave the middle finger to protesters as she walked to the airport and shouted: ‘F*** you!’
Another passenger was seen pushing a protester as he threw his bags over the guardrail.
As people got out of cars, protesters led them to the side of the road and ordered them out that way.
“We have protesters putting their bodies on the line, they will not move until they are physically removed,” an organizer said in a video.
The group also posted a photo of a map showing traffic jams on the road as they blocked traffic, saying, “It’s day 191 of the genocide in Gaza and we’re shutting everything down.”
People took to social media and commented on the protest: “It’s time to criminalize obstructing highways. 30 days in jail is more than appropriate,” said Illinois Governor JB Pritzker.
Others noted that police officers did “nothing.”
Someone commented: ‘Why do the police stand there every time and allow these disruptions? Each. Single. Time.’