Trump Tower protests: 150 Mahmoud Khalil supporters storm Midtown building; 90+ arrested
Trump Tower protesters support Mahmoud Khalil
Protesters gathered inside Trump Tower in Midtown Manhattan on [date] to demand the release of Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian activist detained by ICE in Louisiana. The demonstration, led by the progressive Jewish group Jewish Voice for Peace, saw dozens arrested after refusing police orders to leave. Khalil, a Columbia University graduate student and U.S. resident, faces potential deportation. Sharon Crowley has the latest.
NEW YORK - Police say over 150 people stormed both inside and around Trump Tower in Midtown, with 98 arrested in a show of solidarity for detained Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil.
Khalil, a U.S. resident who organized many of Columbia University's pro-Palestinian protests, was arrested in New York on Saturday and transferred to an immigration detention center in Louisiana. Khalil hasn't been charged with breaking any law but the Trump administration has vowed to deport students who engage in "pro-terrorist, anti-Semitic, anti-American activity."
Dozens of protesters storm Trump Tower, standoff with NYPD
Video footage from inside Trump Tower shows protesters being escorted by police. Tensions between the protesters and law enforcement appear to be escalating.
Trump Tower protest: What happened?
Timeline:
According to an NYPD spokesperson, demonstrators flooded the atrium of the iconic Midtown Manhattan building around noon, NYPD Chief of Department John Chell told the media after the building was cleared.
Half of the protesters entered the building's public cafeteria area in "civilian attire" before revealing shirts that read "not in our name" on the front and "Jews say stop blaming Israel" on the back. Another group with the same red shirts filed in through the front and side of the building.
"Free Mahmoud," they chanted inside the president's namesake building, where his son Barron lives while attending NYU.
Police arrived at the scene around 12:20 p.m. and gave the group three verbal warnings to disperse.
Officers then began making arrests, detaining nearly 100 demonstrators and loading them onto NYPD buses, which took them to NYPD Central booking. Most will face trespassing and obstructing governmental administration charges with an additional resisting arrest charge for others.
No one was injured, and no property was damaged.
"I'm very proud to say there were no incidents whatsoever," Chell said. "We did it safely, calmly, and we accomplished what we had to do with our Secret Service partners and Trump security."
Who were the protesters?
What we know:
The group claiming credit for the demonstration, "Jewish Voice for Peace," explained on Instagram that the event was in protest of the arrest of Mahmoud Khalil.
READ MORE: Mahmoud Khalil's detention will stretch on as lawyers spar over Trump's plan to deport him: Latest
"The Trump administration thinks it can crush dissent and strip away constitutional rights. We know this playbook. We refuse to allow our neighbors to be abducted in our name," the post states. "As Jews, we are taking over the Trump Tower to register our mass refusal."
Debra Winger (Photo by Stephen Lovekin/Variety/Penske Media via Getty Images)
Among the protesters was actor Debra Winger, who has discussed her Jewish faith and upbringing over the years.
Winger accused the Trump administration of having "no interest in Jewish safety" and "co-opting antisemitism."I’m just standing up for my rights, and I’m standing up for Mahmoud Khalil, who has been abducted illegally."
Protester Sophie Edelhart, who studies Yiddish at a school in Canada, said she took part in the demonstration because she didn't want to "cede ground" to Trump and "fascism." She said the building, with its golden escalator that Trump rode before announcing his 2016 presidential run, was a symbolic target.
Who is Mahmoud Khalil?
The backstory:
Columbia University student Mahmoud Khalil talks to the press during the press briefing organized by Pro-Palestinian protesters who set up a new encampment at Columbia University's Morningside Heights campus on Friday evening, in New York City, Unit
Columbia University graduate student Mahmoud Khalil will remain detained in Louisiana despite his lawyers' petition to have him returned to New York, where his eight-month-pregnant wife resides.
Mahmoud Khalil, a permanent U.S. resident married to an American citizen, was arrested in New York on Saturday and later transferred to an immigration detention center in Louisiana. The Trump administration is seeking his deportation under a rarely used section of the Immigration and Nationality Act that allows for removal on foreign policy grounds.
A federal judge in Manhattan has blocked his deportation for now, ordering that Khalil not be removed while legal proceedings continue. However, Khalil’s legal team has struggled to communicate with him, prompting Judge Jesse M. Furman to order that his attorneys be allowed phone access at least twice this week.
The Trump administration has been actively seeking his deportation under a rarely used section of the Immigration and Nationality Act that allows for removal on foreign policy grounds.
What they're saying:
"I’m just standing up for my rights, and I’m standing up for Mahmoud Khalil, who has been abducted illegally and taken to an undisclosed location," actor Debra Winter, who was not arrested, told The Associated Press, referring to how Khalil's attorney didn't know his whereabouts immediately following his arrest. "Does that sound like America to you?"
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene took to X to share a concerning update: protesters have reportedly OCCUPIED Trump Tower in New York City, chanting, "Free Mahmoud, Free them All!" Greene went on to state that she knows the building's owner and expects legal action to be taken, with charges likely forthcoming.