60 PROTESTERS ARRESTED
Two Gaza demonstrations in Manhattan and one in Brooklyn
More than 60 demonstrators were arrested in three separate city protests over the conflict in Gaza that sparked several clashes with police and left one woman sprawled out on a street unconscious, police said Saturday.
Marchers took to the streets near Union Square, in lower Manhattan and in downtown Brooklyn beginning at 4 p.m. on Friday, cops said. At least one of the protests didn’t end until about 3:30 a.m. Saturday.
Pro-Palestinian demonstrators coupled with International Women’s Day marchers paralyzed traffic as they marched through the streets, decrying the ongoing conflict in Gaza, which is now into its fifth month.
During each protest, marchers were met by a large number of cops in riot gear backed up by helicopters and drones that flew overhead.
One woman was recorded unconscious on the ground during the Union Square protest, surrounded by cops who were pushing people back, but it was’t clear how the woman was injured.
“Call an ambulance! Call an ambulance!” one woman can be heard in the background of the video, posted by Freedomnews. TV.
Protesters began marching near Union Square about 4 p.m. Cops took 30 demonstrators into custody for blocking traffic and refusing to follow orders as demonstrators made their way south to Zuccotti Park in the Financial District, where the Occupy Wall Street demonstrations were held in 2011.
Videos show police in shoving matches with some demonstrators as they try to get some marchers under control.
Of the 30 taken into custody, 24 marchers were given summonses and six received desk appearance tickets for criminal mischief, disorderly conduct and obstructing government administration, cops said.
Two hours later, a separate march began at Brooklyn’s Grand Army Plaza. Marchers went down to Tillary St. and the foot of the Brooklyn Bridge. Cops stopped and zip-tied 21 demonstrators who were put in wagons and taken to NYPD Headquarters for processing.
Eighteen protesters were given Criminal Court summonses, two received desk appearance tickets and Jason Baerga was arrested for striking a cop with an open hand and resisting arrest, cops said.
A woman, who refused to identify herself and was listed as a Jane Doe, was arrested for riot and obstructing government administration.
The protests continued about 8:40 p.m. at Park Row and Pearl St. in lower Manhattan. Cops took 12 protesters into custody, an NYPD spokeswoman said. Eight of the detainees were given summonses and three were given desk appearance tickets.
Most of the summonses were for disorderly conduct and resisting arrest, police said. No serious injuries were reported.
Marches over the Israeli-Hamas conflict have taken place in the city almost weekly since Hamas launched an attack against Israeli civilians on Oct. 7, massacring 1,200 people and taking hostages.
Over the past few months, Gaza war protesters tried to disrupt the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and the lighting of the Rockefeller Christmas Tree and picketed the Capitol in Washington during Thursday’s State of the Union address.