Federal Protective Service officers were arresting protesters who filled the Ronald V. Dellums Federal Building in Oakland on Monday to demand a cease-fire in Gaza.
According to organizers, more than 700 people had planned to "occupy" the Clay Street building to protest military actions in Gaza that were sparked by an attack on Israel by Hamas Oct. 7.
Jewish Voice for Peace, or JVP, a main organizer of the protest, said on the social media platform X at 8:10 p.m. that "We are being arrested one by one, there are hundreds of us still at the Oakland federal building, we are not leaving."
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Activists have vowed to occupy the building until elected officials take action or the protesters are all arrested. At least 450 people had been detained or arrested as of 9:30 p.m., according to JVP, but the Federal Protective Service could not be reached to confirm that number.
Federal security had sent out dispersal orders around 7:45 p.m. and began detaining people shortly thereafter.
People in T-shirts reading "Jews Say Cease-fire Now" and carrying banners that read "Not in Our Name" and "Let Gaza Live" filled the area, the perimeter of which was closed off by Oakland police. A sing-song "Cease-fire Now" could be heard echoing through the rotunda.
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According to JVP, the action is part of a national week of Jewish-led protests, with protesters demanding that President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris follow the lead of U.S. Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Oakland, in calling for a cease-fire in Gaza.
Filmmaker and activist Boots Riley took part in the protest and posted a video of the sit-in on the social media platform X, saying "The govt of Israel does not act on behalf of, nor represent, Jewish people."
Oakland City Council President Nikki Fortunato Bas also posted a letter to the president and members of Congress on X on Monday calling for a cease-fire.
"The humanitarian crisis and loss of thousands of innocent civilian lives in Palestine and Israel is unforgivable and inhumane," she wrote. "The continued loss of children is a failure of humanity."
Bas also asked that continued humanitarian aid be allowed into Gaza.
"I condemn the ongoing killing of innocent Palestinian lives," she further wrote. "I condemn the killing of innocent Israeli lives in the Oct. 7th attack. This violence takes place in the context of the ongoing occupation of Gaza, which is contrary to International Law."
