NEW YORK — Police arrested 86 protesters at tense “Abolish ICE” demonstrations in Times Square and near NYPD headquarters in Manhattan Saturday, police sources said.
Videos from the scenes show police scuffling with protesters demonstrating against recent reports that ICE performed unneeded hysterectomies on immigrant women detained at a facility in Georgia, New York Post reported.
An NYPD message loudly broadcast from a public address system alerted protesters that they were “unlawfully in the roadway and obstructing vehicular traffic.”
One protester in Times Square, Isabella Leyva, posted on Twitter that officers began making arrests as protesters began occupying the street.
Video from the scene showed police arresting several demonstrators as they sat in the road.
Another clip from Leyva shows police discarding protesters’ bicycles while trying to restrain them.
The second group of protesters were arrested near Pearl and Madison streets, near One Police Plaza, police sources said.
At least 30 arrests, barricading us on the sidewalk while they arrest a group that was sitting in the street. I haven’t seen them act this violently since May pic.twitter.com/IJkGndyyar
— Isabelle Leyva (@isabelle_leyva) September 19, 2020
“What the f*** is wrong with you!? They’re sitting down!” one protester could be heard yelling to the officers making the arrests, apparently unaware that “sitting in the street” makes the road unusable for traffic.
In total, 41 males and 45 females were arrested over the course of the day, FOX reported.
All were charged with disorderly conduct and one was hit with a charge of resisting arrest, the sources said.
