A “Car Caravan 4Palestine” prompted the Cleveland Hopkins International Airport to shut down to traffic and disrupted motorists in Downtown Cleveland on Saturday afternoon.
The protest originally started in Brook Park and then moved to the airport. It then moved to Downtown Cleveland before heading back toward Brook Park, causing major traffic backups and delays along the way.
Here’s what one protester told News 5 about why they were protesting:
Protester explains reason for Car Caravan 4Palestine
The airport reopened after it shut down all of its entrances for security reasons due to the large number of cars participating in the protest Saturday afternoon.
The airport said no flights were impacted by the protest.
The airport later set up a checkpoint at all entrances to ensure people are there for its intended use.
An airport official told News 5 that the entrances were shut down out of an abundance of safety, and this was done as a precaution.
Cleveland Police, the Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Office and Brook Park Police responded to the area after hundreds of cars taking part in the caravan protest blocked traffic on the nearby roads.