Cotton Suggests Drivers Remove Pro-Palestine Protesters Blocking Roads, Later Backtracks on Violence Remarks

Sen. Tom Cotton said people blocked by pro-Palestine protesters should "forcibly remove" them from streets to let traffic through. He later claimed he wasn't calling for violence.

Cotton said if blocked, drivers should get out and move protesters off streets themselves rather than wait for police.

He referred to protesters as "pro-Hamas vigilantes" and said similar protests in Arkansas would involve "very wet criminals tossed overboard."

Comments follow 26 arrests for protest on San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge that blocked traffic for 5 hours.

California Highway Patrol Chief said protests can happen but blocking roads unlawfully prevents people from getting to work or emergencies.