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Pro-Palestinian protesters are resorting to ever-louder and intrusive tactics – like shutting down the Golden Gate Bridge during Monday’s morning commute and blocking access to Chicago’s O’Hare airport – as they try to shake US support for Israel and draw attention to the humanitarian disaster in Gaza.

The disruptions are raising questions about the limits of free speech and led a US senator to encourage people to “take matters in their own hands.”

An activist in Bakersfield, California, blew through limits on free speech when, during a public comment period on a resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza, she told city council members last week they would be murdered in their homes. She now faces felony charges.

Separately, on Monday, the University of Southern California canceled the commencement speech of its valedictorian – biomedical engineering major Asna Tabassum, who is Muslim – after her social media posts were targeted by pro-Israel activists, raising questions about the existence of free speech.

“I would encourage most people anywhere that get stuck behind criminals like this who are trying to block traffic to take matters in their own hands,” Cotton said on Fox News on Monday, intentionally referring to the protesters as “criminals.”