New York police arrest 86 anti-ICE protesters
Police arrested 86 people at a protest against the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE) in Times Square on Saturday, according to the New York Police Department.
The rally was calling for the abolition of ICE in the wake of a complaint made public last week that a Georgia ICE facility had a high rate of hysterectomies and alleged medical neglect, protester Isabelle Leyva told CNN.
Leyva estimated that up to 300 protesters had gathered in Times Square from noon Saturday and said they were outnumbered by police 3-to-1. Arrests were made in Times Square and later outside the NYPD building at 1 Police Plaza, she said.
NYPD Detective Denise Moroney said charges resulting from the Times Square protest included disorderly conduct and resisting arrest. Eighty-five people received summonses and one person received a desk appearance ticket.
Approximately 20 people have been released with a court summons, Moroney said.
Leyva said police had blocked off traffic before the rally began but as soon as protesters tried to get onto the street, officers “descended from all sides” and “started ripping people off of the sidewalk.”
Leyva said police were playing a very loud recording that was warning disorderly conduct and resisting arrest charges, along with “a high-pitched siren” to disperse the crowds. She said batons were also used.
Leyva herself was not arrested. After the first altercation with the officers, Leyva made her way to 1 Police Plaza to support those detained and described “pretty brutal arrests.”
“At jail support there was a young girl who was actually standing next to me when they attacked us, and they lifted her up by her hair and then slammed her on the sidewalk and dog-piled on top of her. I think she’s OK, she was released,” Leyva said.
Leyva alleged that police violence at New York protests had been escalating.
“The jail support violence is really concerning because jail support is not a protest,” she said. “There were probably 30 of us there sitting on a public sidewalk. So them getting violent and arresting people at jail support is a real attempt to undermine the movement.”
Video provided by Leyva but not verified by CNN shows protesters seated in Times Square as police try to secure their arms behind them, some being led away. A loudspeaker announcement says: “You are unlawfully in the roadway and obstructing vehicular traffic. You are ordered to leave the roadway and utilize the available sidewalk.”
