The San Francisco jury found each of the seven defendants guilty of six misdemeanor offenses, including false imprisonment, obstruction of a thoroughfare and unlawful assembly, according to a statement issued by San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins.

Jenkins said one defendant was also convicted of an additional misdemeanor charge of refusing to disperse. The defendants are scheduled to be sentenced in August and could face prison terms of up to five years in county jail.

Jurors, however, remained deadlocked on the most serious allegation of felony conspiracy, which prosecutors said involved an agreement between two or more individuals to commit a crime accompanied by an overt act. A conviction on that charge could have carried a sentence of up to 15 years.

“At this time we will evaluate our options and consider next steps,” Jenkins said after the verdict.

The protest took place during a wave of demonstrations across the United States in 2024 calling for an end to Israel’s military campaign in Gaza and opposing continued U.S. support for Israel. Many demonstrations also urged universities to divest investments linked to companies supporting Israel.

During the trial, defense attorneys argued that the protesters acted from a deeply held moral conviction in response to the humanitarian consequences of the war in Gaza and U.S. backing for Israel. They told the court that participants turned to blocking the bridge only after peaceful efforts, including writing letters and contacting elected representatives, had failed to produce meaningful change.

Prosecutors argued that the demonstration shut down traffic on one of California’s busiest transportation links for approximately four hours, creating significant disruption and posing risks to public safety by delaying emergency access and trapping motorists.

Nuha Abusamra, who represented one of the defendants, described the jury’s decision not to convict on the felony conspiracy charge as a positive outcome for the defense, according to local media outlet KQED.

“Taking a bridge and blocking traffic for a few hours years ago is the bare minimum that we should be doing as American citizens while our tax dollars continue to fund the mass genocide of Palestinians,” Abusamra said.

The war in Gaza began after Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel in October 2023, killing about 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostages, according to Israeli authorities.

Israel says its military campaign is an act of self-defense aimed at dismantling Hamas. The conflict has killed tens of thousands of people in Gaza, displaced much of the territory’s population and contributed to severe humanitarian conditions. United Nations inquiries, human rights experts and some scholars have characterized Israel’s actions as genocide, while Israel rejects that characterization.

The verdict marks one of the most closely watched criminal cases stemming from the nationwide pro-Palestinian protest movement that spread across the United States during 2024, leading to demonstrations on university campuses, public roads and other high-profile locations.