A federal judge this week dismissed a lawsuit claiming that a protest against Israel’s bombardment of Gaza that shut down a Chicago highway amounted to “false imprisonment.”

The judge also ordered sanctions against the Indiana lawyer who brought the lawsuit, saying it was “intended to harass” rather than make legitimate legal claims.

Christopher Manhart filed the suit over a protest in April 2024 that shut down Interstate 190 near O’Hare International Airport, naming various activist groups and individuals as defendants. Manhart claimed the blockade forced him to miss a flight and, as a result, “an important work dinner and networking session.”

Manhart also claimed the activists acted as a “propaganda arm” of Hamas and that the protesters were responsible for extending the war in Gaza.

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