WOMAN, 78, CITED FOR BLOCKING UBER EATS ROBOT IN PROTEST

Carolyn Marvin, a 78-year-old retired University of Pennsylvania professor, was handcuffed and given a disorderly conduct citation in Philadelphia on October 14, 2026, after she refused police orders to move away from an Uber Eats delivery robot. She has spent months blocking delivery robots on purpose, because she says they are taking jobs from human couriers, Dexerto reports.

Marvin was returning home from a flu shot appointment near Reading Terminal Market when she came across the robot. CNN reported she was carrying enchilada sauce and chicken biryani takeout at the time, which is an ironic bit of cargo to be holding while taking on a food delivery machine.

She planted herself in its path and stayed there. A crowd gathered, and CNN described the reactions as a mix of supportive and critical. Police arrived after a report of criminal mischief involving a robot, ordered her to move and said she repeatedly refused.

Marvin told PennLive her reasoning was simple: “I know they’re taking the jobs of human delivery workers and so, I have been protesting them whenever I saw them by standing in front of them and preventing them from going forward,” she said. She also told the outlet she plans to fight the charge on First Amendment grounds.

She told CNN, as quoted by The Independent: “I was under the impression that I had more rights than the robot did.” Under a 2020 Pennsylvania law, delivery robots count as pedestrians with certain rights, including at crosswalks, though they have to yield to actual people.

Uber Eats rolled out its robots in Philadelphia in March 2026 with robotics company Avride. Residents have raised worries about pedestrian safety, privacy and the loss of delivery jobs.

Marvin says her method is not exactly a siege. She estimates she holds a robot up for 10 to 15 minutes at a time, and only when she has a free moment. In her view, the worst outcome is that somebody’s office lunch shows up a little late. “I have a life, so I don’t have tons of time to stand in front of robots,” she said.

A friend had a take on the citation, according to Marvin’s account to CNN: “Well, you got a disorderly conduct charge for impeding capitalism.”

The citation has not slowed her down. Syracuse.com reported on November 2, 2026, that Marvin has no intention of stopping. Asked by The Independent whether she would keep blocking robots, she answered: “Oh yeah.”