Reagan National warns of delays due to pro-Hamas group on vehicles 'exercising 1A rights'

Virginia's Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport is under fire on social media for posting a very stupid and incorrect tweet.

Trouble for the airport began when a motorcade of at least six vehicles full of pro-Palestinian zealots was reported to be slowing/blocking traffic heading into the airport.

Check out the report below:

Happening Now: A motorcade of at least 6 vehicles is intentionally slowing both lanes of northbound traffic on GW Parkway to @Reagan_Airport. Palestinian flags are flying from several vehicles. This has caused a major traffic jam. pic.twitter.com/eMGe7xafrU

— Ben Dennis DC News Now (@broadcastben_) January 20, 2024

The fact that fans were acting like jerks and disrupting people's travel plans was no surprise. This is what they always do.

What was surprising was how the airport decided to handle the disturbance. At 2:53 p.m. Saturday, the airport took to its official X account to warn travelers to “expect delays at the airport due to a group of vehicles exercising first amendment rights to the road.”

Look at:

TRAFFIC ALERT: Expect delays at the airport due to a group of vehicles exercising first amendment rights on the roadway. Be careful and wait for slow moving vehicles. to recommend @Wmata to access the airport.

— Reagan Airport (@Reagan_Airport) January 20, 2024

There was just one problem: There is no First Amendment right to block traffic, especially in Virginia.

Code of Virginia § 46.2-818 clearly states that it is unlawful for someone to “[s]lift another's vehicle with the sole purpose of preventing it from moving on the road, except in the event of an emergency or mechanical breakdown.”

“Any person who violates any provision of this section is guilty of a class 1 misdemeanor and may further have his or her driver's license suspended by the court for a period not to exceed one year,” the code reads.

Look at:

While the protesters are exercising their First Amendment rights, Virginia law says someone cannot “intentionally and willfully” stop traffic.
Are there legal loopholes around this? Could a defense argue that the drivers “slowed down” and did not “stop” the others? Is there a legal preference? pic.twitter.com/uxX15ylyMC

— Ben Dennis DC News Now (@broadcastben_) January 20, 2024

So what the hell was Reagan Airport talking about? That's what his critics would like to know.

“Forgive me, kids, but there is no exercising First Amendment rights on an airport road,” one critic bluntly tweeted.

“The first amendment protects a peaceful assembly. Blocking a public road is anything but. Get a clue,” added another.

See more answers below:

is this a joke Leftist libraries have no 1st amendment right to block traffic. Reagan would fire all of you for approving this

— SeldenGADawgs (@SeldenGADawgs) January 21, 2024

So if I kidnap you so I can force my views on the Middle East on you, am I just exercising my first amendment rights?
“Exercising your first amendment rights in the roadway” does not give you the right to go slower than the posted minimum speed, or to break any other law. arrest them

— Steven Hammer (@StevennHammer) January 21, 2024

This is a clownish statement. No one has the right to block roads and detain people illegally.

Our first amendment right is to peaceful protest. This does not include illegal detention, which is technically kidnapping.

You should apologize for this absurd statement.

— Morgana Le Faye *Patriot *America 1st* (@Keltic_Witch) January 21, 2024

I have read the first amendment.

It's not that.

If breaking the law was protected by the first amendment, we just go around bashing people we didn't like and calling it “our truth.”

They are breaking the law. If they get run over, it should be on them.

They should be arrested.

— LockeUpLiberty (@Vingancia) January 20, 2024

bad It is actually a crime to block roads. pic.twitter.com/03XrZmSgZA

— Gretchen Smith (@MAGAgpsmith) January 21, 2024

It is not clear if any of the fans were arrested. Ideally, they should have been, which is exactly what happened in late December when similar fanatics pulled the same stunt at Los Angeles International Airport and New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport.

“Thirty-six people were arrested at LAX where protesters became unruly, the Los Angeles Police Department said.” Reuters informed in due course.

“Nationwide, the Port Authority of New York Police Department said 26 people were arrested for disorderly conduct and obstructing traffic during a protest on the Van Wyck Expressway inside the airport JFK from Queens,” the Reuters report continued.

#BREAKING: LAPD is on riot gear as pro-Palestinian protesters block entrance to LAX airport armed with rocks and throwing cones and construction equipment
⁰#The angels l #California ⁰⁰Today, numerous law enforcement agencies are currently in the… pic.twitter.com/zdEs2C1nXb

— RAWSALERTS (@rawsalerts) December 27, 2023

#BREAKING Several roads leading to JFK airport are BLOCKED by Ceasefire Now protesters calling for an end to the war in Gaza. #happening now pic.twitter.com/8ec5132B49

— Oliya Scootercaster (@ScooterCasterNY) December 27, 2023

Senior Staff Writer
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V. Saxena is a BizPac Review staff writer with a decade of experience as a professional writer and a lifetime of experience as an avid news junkie. He holds a degree in computer technology from Purdue University.

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