photo credit: Noah Abrams/KRCB
(clockwise from left) Seth Donnelly, lead organizer with Taxpayers Against Genocide; class action plaintiff Tarik Kanaana; the crowd of supporters gathered outside the Philip Burton Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse in San Francisco on Thursday, December 19th, 2024.

Residents from at least six Northern California counties filed a federal lawsuit against two members of Congress Thursday over their votes for military aid to Israel.

Organizers with the group Taxpayers Against Genocide say close to 500 people have signed onto the class action suit against Representatives Jared Huffman of California’s 2nd District, and Mike Thompson of California’s 4th District.

Plaintiffs include Tarik Kanaana, a Palestinian-American living in the 4th District.

"By voting the way he did to supply Israel with money and weapons, he has made me complicit in the killing of my own people," Kanaana said at press conference outside the federal courthouse in San Francisco.

In response to news of the case, a spokesperson for Representative Thompson said, “achieving peace and securing the safety of civilians won't be accomplished by filing a lawsuit.”

Dean Royer, the lead attorney for the plaintiffs, argued the representatives’ April votes for a $26 billion dollar military aid package to Israel violated International and U.S. law that prohibits complicity in genocide.

The International Court of Justice ruled in January that Israel’s actions constitute a “plausible” genocide.

"This lawsuit says no, you have violated our clients rights to have their tax dollars to be used only for lawful purposes," Royer said.

Plaintiffs are seeking a court injunction to prevent the representatives from voting for additional military aid to Israel. Representative Huffman declined to comment on the case.