At least 98 individuals were taken into custody following a protest at Trump Tower in Manhattan on Thursday, where demonstrators gathered to condemn the detention of Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil by ICE.
Khalil was arrested due to his involvement in pro-Palestinian demonstrations at Columbia University.
The demonstration, spearheaded by Jewish Voice for Peace, commenced shortly after noon as activists, clad in red shirts emblazoned with messages such as “Not in our Name” and “Jews Say Stop Arming Israel,” filled the Tower’s iconic golden atrium.
Chanting slogans like “Free Mahmoud Khalil,” protesters unfurled banners with statements including “Never Again for Anyone,” “Jews Say Do Not Comply,” and “Come For One, Face Us All.”
The NYPD reported that 98 individuals were arrested, with 50 demonstrators escorted out of the lobby in zip ties and placed into awaiting police vehicles. No injuries or property damage were reported.
A protest organizer streamed the demonstration live from the balcony overlooking the atrium, drawing a connection between their actions and the Jewish holiday of Purim.
“As Jews, we’re here today, mere hours before the holiday of Purim begins – a holiday where we honor Esther who used her voice to speak out and demand that the king not commit genocide,” the organizer stated in the video. “Today we are using her same courage to speak out.”
As officers moved in to make arrests, demonstrators sat together, chanting “Free Palestine” and “the whole world is watching.”
The protest followed Khalil’s recent arrest by federal agents at his New York home after the Trump administration revoked his green card. Trump addressed the matter on Truth Social, stating, “If you support terrorism… your presence is contrary to our national and foreign policy interests, and you are not welcome here.”
Khalil’s case unfolds against the backdrop of disciplinary actions taken by Columbia University, which has expelled, suspended, or temporarily revoked degrees of students involved in a protest at Hamilton Hall earlier in 2024.
In April, the Columbia University Apartheid Divest coalition had called for the school to sever financial ties with Israel and support a ceasefire in Gaza.
When negotiations failed, protesters occupied Hamilton Hall, leading to a police intervention and the arrest of over 110 individuals.
The university has declined to specify the exact number of students suspended or expelled, citing privacy obligations.
Khalil’s legal team argues that his detention marks an escalation in the Trump administration’s crackdown on international students and pro-Palestinian activism on college campuses.
In a newly filed habeas corpus petition, his lawyers named President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio as respondents, alleging that Khalil was targeted for exercising his right to free speech.
On Thursday, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) initiated a federal lawsuit on behalf of Khalil and seven other students against Columbia University and Barnard College, accusing them of unlawfully disclosing thousands of student records to the House Education and Workforce Committee under pressure.
The lawsuit states that on February 13, the committee demanded access to disciplinary records related to 11 incidents. Columbia University later confirmed in a February 27 email that it would comply, a move CAIR argues could put students at risk of harassment, doxxing, and other threats.
Khalil’s attorney maintains that his arrest was an act of retaliation by the U.S. government for his advocacy. Currently detained at an ICE facility in Louisiana, Khalil was denied bail by a judge on Wednesday.
His wife, Noor Abdalla, a U.S. citizen, is eight months pregnant. His legal team continues to seek his release while the case unfolds.
A Palestinian refugee raised in Syria, Khalil was pursuing graduate studies at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs when Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023.
As student-led demonstrations emerged at Columbia, Khalil took on a leadership role in negotiations with university officials.
“I always say that we are the lucky ones that made it here to speak for our people who are under oppression in Palestine and across the refugee camps and the Palestinian cities,” Khalil told CNN last spring.
Juliette Kayyem, a CNN senior national security analyst, likened the Trump Tower protest to recent demonstrations at Elon Musk’s Tesla dealerships, noting the complex balance between business interests, policy, and the First Amendment.
“They are dealing with, I think in some ways, the consequences of that merger of monetization and policy and the First Amendment,” Kayyem said in an interview with CNN’s Brianna Keilar.
Communications director for Jewish Voice for Peace, Sonya Meyerson-Knox, revealed that the plan to stage the Trump Tower demonstration came together within just a day and a half.
She emphasized that the group felt compelled to take action against Khalil’s detention.
“I am here in adherence to what my ancestors taught me because I have been taught what happens when authoritarian regimes start scapegoating people,” Meyerson-Knox said. “And I know that if we don’t speak up today, we will not be able to speak up.”
