Over two dozen pro-Palestine protesters were arrested on Manhattan’s Upper East Side on Monday evening while marching from a midtown college campus to the Metropolitan Museum of Art to demonstrate in front of the Met Gala, one of the most high-profile events of the year in the city.
The New York Police Department confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter that the arrests took place at 6:30 p.m. local time at 80th Street and Madison Avenue, just a block away from the star-studded red carpet event, which was teaming with paparazzi.
Waving Palestinian flags and chanting “Gaza! Gaza!”, according to The New York Times, the demonstrators were largely from student groups at Baruch College, Columbia University and New York University who had gathered to protest the war in Gaza, and then converged at Hunter College, according to the NYPD.
A total of 27 people were arrested and detained at the city’s 19th precinct on the Upper East Side, according to the NYPD. Charges against the protesters, per a list obtained to THR, range from the more serious 2nd Degree Assault, Resisting Arrest and Obstructing Governmental Administration to the lesser charge of Disorderly Conduct — typically a misdemeanor resulting in a fine if a plea is made; in New York, it’s sealed from one’s record after one year. This was the lone charge against 21 of those arrested on Monday night. The police spokesperson added that an investigation into the planned protest is still ongoing.
Just after 4:30 p.m. on Monday, police said officers responded to three scheduled demonstrations at separate college campuses; these took place in Greenwich Village, home to New York University; the Gramercy Park area, where Baruch College is located; and Morningside Heights, where protests have rattled the Columbia University campus for weeks.
A second protest moved from a gathering point in nearly Central Park toward the glitzy event, according to the Times, where the Costume Institute’s exhibition, titled “Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion,” saw major stars including event hosts Zendaya, Jennifer Lopez, Bad Bunny and Chris Hemsworth pose in glamorous gowns and chic suits in front of hundreds of photographers from major publications.
Any exposure at the event the protestors hoped for was thwarted, however. A THR staff member who was inside the Met Gala press tent said they were unable to hear or see any sign of the protest or arrests that were taking place one avenue away. The high-profile nature of the event had prompted the installation of barricades in Central Park, so any protesters attempting to get to the event via Central Park found that avenue blocked off, according to a report from CBS News.
Christy Piña contributed to this report.
