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(New York, NY) – A group of over 100 demonstrators flooded the lobby of Trump Tower in midtown Manhattan Thursday morning. Protesters with the pro-Palestinian group Jewish Voices for Peace wore red shirts reading “Stop Arming Israel” as they occupied the lobby – displaying posters and chanting. The group was protesting the detention and possible deportation of Mahmoud Khalil, a former Columbia student that’s currently detained in federal immigration prison in Louisiana. This past Monday, a judge temporarily blocked any efforts to deport him pending a lawsuit against his detention from Khalil’s attorneys.
The NYPD was on the scene quickly, making mass arrests and putting protesters onto MTA buses on their way to processing. There were a total of 98 arrests made. NYPD Chief of Department John Chell says the charges include trespassing, obstruction and resisting arrest. This is the latest in demonstrations against Khalil’s arrest. The White House maintains Khalil is a threat to national security and President Donald Trump says this arrest is the first of many to come.
