6 charged amid sprawling protest
Six people were arrested, including a pair of relatives, when pro-Palestinian protesters clashed with police near the Rockefeller Christmas tree ion Christmas Day, police said Tuesday.
“Christmas is canceled!” protesters screamed as they marched around the tree on Rockefeller Plaza then headed to Grand Central Terminal and Union Square.
There were several tense moments with cops and protesters clashing and shoving each other. The scheduled protest began outside the News Corp building on Sixth Ave. at 1:50 p.m. Monday, but demonstrators soon began to move.
Protesters were recorded blocking traffic en masse as they took to the streets and headed toward Grand Central.
Six people were taken into custody during the six-hour protest including a 50-yearold Elder Mohammed and his 24-year-old relative Adam Elder Mohammed, who were both charged with resisting arrest, obstruction of government administration and disorderly conduct. Both were given desk appearance tickets and sent home.
Bronx resident Cisse Muktar, 18, was also arrested and charged with menacing, resisting arrest and disorderly conduct. His arraignment in Manhattan Criminal Court was pending Tuesday.
Others taken into custody included two women, ages 19 and 23, both charged with making graffiti and a 26-year-old man charged with disorderly conduct.
An NYPD officer fell and hurt his knee as he helped a fellow cop try to apprehend a protester, police said.
Last month, protesters jumped the barricades at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade near Sixth Ave. and W. 45th St. and glued themselves to the pavement, forcing marchers, floats and balloons to veer from the path.
Protest organizers have called for a suspension of Christmas celebrations “in mourning for the ongoing genocide in Gaza.”
The war in Gaza has raged since Oct. 7, when the terror group Hamas attacked several Israeli areas near the Gaza Strip. More than 1,200 Israelis were killed and dozens were taken hostage.