Nearly 100 people were arrested after protesters gathered at Trump Tower in Manhattan Thursday to denounce the arrest of Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian activist detained by ICE over his involvement with pro-Palestinian demonstrations at Columbia University.

The protest, organized by Jewish Voice for Peace, began shortly after noon when demonstrators dressed in red shirts that read “Not in our Name” and “Jews Say Stop Arming Israel,” crammed into the Tower’s iconic golden atrium.

They chanted “Free Mahmoud Khalil” and unfurled banners that read “Never Again for Anyone” and “Jews Say Do Not Comply.”

Ninety-eight people were later arrested and 50 were led from the lobby in zip ties and placed into awaiting police vehicles, according to the New York Police Department. No injuries or property damage was reported, the NYPD said.

An organizer livestreamed the protest from the balcony overlooking the atrium of Trump Tower.

“As Jews, we’re here today, mere hours before the holiday of Purim begins – a holiday where we honor Esther who used her voice to speak out and demand that the king not commit genocide,” the woman said in the video. “Today we are using her same courage to speak out.

As the NYPD moved in to arrest the demonstrators, they sat in unison and began chanting, “Free Palestine,” and “the whole world is watching.”

The protest comes days after Khalil was detained by federal agents at his home in New York after the Trump administration revoked his green card. In a post on Truth Social Monday, Trump wrote, “If you support terrorism …. your presence is contrary to our national and foreign policy interests, and you are not welcome here.”

Khalil’s attorney has said the US government “retaliated” against her client “for speaking up in defense of Palestinians” and that he has been detained for exercising his right to free speech.

The case, seemingly the first of its kind, sets the stage for what could come as the Trump administration ramps up its targeting of foreign students and pro-Palestinian demonstrations on college campuses.

Khalil is currently being detained at an ICE facility in Louisiana. On Wednesday, a judge ruled he would remain in custody while his case continues. His wife, Noor Abdalla, is eight months pregnant and a United States citizen.

A Palestinian refugee who grew up in Syria, Khalil was attending graduate school at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs when Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023. After students began protesting at the university, Khalil was tapped to represent a coalition of student groups in discussions with the school’s administrators.

He told CNN last spring that he felt called to speak out on behalf of his people.

“I always say that we are the lucky ones that made it here to speak for our people who are under oppression in Palestine and across the refugee camps and the Palestinian cities,” Khalil said.

Source: CNN
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