Protesters block Lockheed Martin in California, demand US halt arms sales to Israel

More than 135 people formed a blockade at every entrance of Lockheed Martin's research campus in Sunnyvale, California, on Thursday to demonstrate against the military contractor's involvement in the war in Gaza.

"We have gathered here to disrupt Lockheed Martin's operations and demand that the US stop all arms sales to Israel," Maramiya Yensoon, an activist, said.

"We urge Congress and Biden to push for a permanent ceasefire, and fellow communities to take up calls for ceasefire themselves until Biden acts."

Lockheed Martin, the leading global arms producer, provides Israel with F-16 and F-35 fighter jets, Hellfire missiles, along with various weapons and surveillance technologies employed in its current air and ground operations in Gaza.

A Lockheed Martin employee also allegedly drove his car through a line of activists and nearly ran over a group of protestors lying down for a die-in before threatening to kill someone, a video on X shows.

This morning a @LockheedMartin employee drove his car through a line of anti-genocide activists and nearly ran over a group of protestors lying down for a die-in before threatening to kill someone. This is the type of people who work at companies like Lockheed that arm Israel. pic.twitter.com/4aRT2bUpz4

— Ariel Koren (@ariel_koko) April 4, 2024