Radical Mob Storms Trump Tower in NYC, Demanding Release of Detained Activist
- 17GEN4
- Mar 13
- 3 min read
New York City, March 13, 2025 – Chaos erupted in Midtown Manhattan today as a radical mob stormed Trump Tower, the iconic Fifth Avenue skyscraper owned by President Donald Trump, in a dramatic protest that led to nearly 100 arrests. The demonstrators, primarily affiliated with the activist group Jewish Voice for Peace, flooded the building’s lobby to demand the release of Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian activist and former Columbia University graduate student detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) earlier this week.
The protest began around 11:30 a.m. PDT, when over 150 individuals, many wearing red T-shirts emblazoned with slogans such as “Jews Say Stop Arming Israel” and “Not in Our Name,” entered the building through both its main entrance and a side door. After shedding outer layers to reveal their protest attire, the group chanted slogans including “Free Mahmoud, Free Them All!” and held signs reading “Fight Nazis, Not Students” and “You Can’t Deport a Movement.” The demonstration quickly escalated as protesters refused police orders to disperse, prompting a swift response from the New York Police Department (NYPD).
NYPD officers, stationed inside and outside Trump Tower in anticipation of the event, moved in after an hour of chanting and sit-ins. Using zip ties, they arrested 98 demonstrators, who were then transported away in police vans. No injuries were reported among officers or protesters, according to a city official on the scene. The operation restored order to the building by early afternoon, though the incident left a striking impression on one of New York’s most recognizable landmarks.
The unrest stems from the arrest of Mahmoud Khalil, a 30-year-old Syrian-born activist detained by ICE on March 9, 2025, in a university-owned apartment near Columbia University. Khalil, whose pregnant wife remains in New York, is currently held at an immigration detention center in Louisiana, facing deportation proceedings under President Trump’s executive orders targeting “pro-terrorist, anti-Semitic, anti-American activity.” The White House has labeled Khalil a “Radical Foreign Pro-Hamas Student,” citing his leadership in anti-Israel protests at Columbia and Barnard College as evidence of ties to Hamas, a designated terrorist organization. President Trump has vowed that Khalil’s arrest marks “the first of many to come,” signaling a broader crackdown on campus activism.
The protest drew a diverse coalition, including actress Debra Winger, who joined demonstrators in denouncing the administration’s actions. “I’m standing up for Mahmoud Khalil, who has been abducted illegally and taken to an undisclosed location,” Winger told reporters. “Does that sound like America to you?” Organizers from Jewish Voice for Peace framed the demonstration as a stand against fascism, with one protester, Sophie Edelhart, citing the symbolic weight of Trump Tower—where Trump launched his 2016 presidential campaign—as a target. “We will not stand by as this regime attempts to criminalize Palestinians and those calling for an end to the Israeli government’s U.S.-funded genocide,” the group stated.
Reactions to the incident were swift and polarized. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) took to X, asserting, “I know the owner of that building and he will definitely be pressing charges.” Secretary of State Marco Rubio echoed the administration’s stance, posting, “Coming to the United States on a visa is a privilege, not a right. The Trump Administration is determined to revoke your visa if you’re here to support terrorists.” Meanwhile, Democratic lawmakers and civil liberty advocates have decried Khalil’s detention as an overreach, with some calling for nationwide demonstrations in solidarity. 17GEN4.com
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