As crowds gathered to watch the annual Rockefeller Center Christmas tree lighting in New York City, pro-Palestinian protesters were blocks away clashing with police during a demonstration.
Security measures were increased as the New York Police Department had anticipated the anti-Israel protest would aim to disrupt the holiday tradition. But demonstrators still broke through barricades and some even physically engaged with police, resulting in moments of chaos captured on video.
There’s someone with a swastika sign at the Free Palestine protest outside the Rockefeller Center tree lighting in NYC tonight. @CBSNewYork https://t.co/o8TOcH6zTj pic.twitter.com/5dMOBBftn2
— Ali Bauman (@AliBaumanTV) November 29, 2023
“Throughout the night, the NYPD tried to contain the group by holding lines and putting up barricades, but tensions escalated, reaching a boiling point when some demonstrators and officers squared off, throwing fists and falling to the ground,” CBS News reported.
The “Flood The Tree Lighting For Gaza” protest led to multiple arrests and much of the video captured was shared by journalist Julio Rosas.
What started as an argument over preventing protesters from going into the street, a black man in a keffiyeh started heckling a black NYPD officer: “Listen to that white man…Get your dumba** in the back!” pic.twitter.com/nyUoAYlRl3
— Julio Rosas (@Julio_Rosas11) November 30, 2023
“Eventually, the barricades and cops could not contain the crowd. People broke through and began marching through the streets while officers continued to make one arrest after another,” CBS News reported.
Protesters eventually took over the street when the NYPD pulled back. Protesters continued to shout at the officers as they left. pic.twitter.com/SVuJ726A7t
— Julio Rosas (@Julio_Rosas11) November 30, 2023
🚨: More videos of fighting between NYPD and the Palestinian crowd. pic.twitter.com/GinmfYzkNs
— Julio Rosas (@Julio_Rosas11) November 30, 2023
“Crowd came and attacked, and it was a melee,” one witness told CBS News.
Police reported that the tree-lighting ceremony was not disrupted.
A man masked in a keffiyeh showed off the NYPD hat he set on fire. pic.twitter.com/75n5tAduWW
— Julio Rosas (@Julio_Rosas11) November 30, 2023
