Police arrested at least 98 protesters Thursday in the lobby of Trump Tower in Manhattan during a demonstration demanding the release of Mahmoud Khalil, a pro-Palestinian activist and green card holder detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) earlier this week.
According to the New York Police Department (NYPD), protesters face charges of trespassing and resisting arrest. The demonstration was led by hundreds of Jewish activists wearing “Not in Our Name” t-shirts, staging a sit-in to oppose Khalil’s detention. Protesters entered the lobby in two groups, with many initially dressed in civilian clothing before revealing their protest gear, police said.
The NYPD stated that it was familiar with the protest group’s tactics. As in previous Trump Tower demonstrations, officers responded only after the building’s security deemed it necessary.
Protesters carried banners in support of Khalil, a leader in anti-war protests at Columbia University, with messages such as “Jews Say Free Mahmoud & Free Palestine” and “Fight Nazis Not Students.”
Jane Hirschmann, a Jewish New Yorker whose relatives were abducted by the Nazis during Hitler’s rise to power, condemned Khalil’s detention. “As Jews of conscience, we know our history and we know where this leads. This moment requires all people of conscience to take bold action to resist state violence and repression. Free Mahmoud now,” she said in a statement.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) announced a federal lawsuit on behalf of Khalil and other students against Columbia University and the U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce, opposing the committee’s request to disclose student records.
Khalil remains detained in Louisiana and has not been charged with a crime. His wife, who is eight months pregnant, urged authorities to release him. “Mahmoud has been ripped away from me for no reason at all. I am pleading with the world to continue to speak up against his unjust and horrific detention,” she said in a statement.
The Trump administration has accused Khalil, who was a leader in pro-Palestinian campus protests, of supporting Hamas. His attorney, Baher Azmy, rejected the claim as “false and preposterous.”
“Setting aside the false premise that advocating for Palestinian human rights constitutes alignment with Hamas, his speech is absolutely protected by the Constitution,” Azmy said. “It should be chilling to everyone that the U.S. government could try to deport someone simply because they disapprove of their speech.”
The administration has not provided evidence supporting its allegations against Khalil.
Reuters
