Politics
Left-Wing Actress Dragged Out Of Trump Tower Protest By NYPD
A Hollywood actress was among the dozens of far-left protesters who stormed Trump Tower in protest of the arrest of pro-Palestine activist Mahmoud Khalil, a Columbia University student who helped organize last year’s anti-Israel protests.
Khalil’s green card was revoked due to his efforts to organize dozens of anti-American protests on U.S. soil. He has in the past stated that the U.S. government must be brought to its knees as part of a “global intifada” and has called for the “total eradication of western civilization.”
Khalil, 30, is not currently facing any criminal charges. He is married to an American citizen, though his legal permanent resident status has been called into question due to his ties to the protests and anti-American views. Khalil is currently being held at an immigration detention center in Louisiana and is facing deportation.
In the day’s following his arrest and impending deportation, far-left activists have organized several protests in his honor, particularly in New York City. Several arrests were made when pro-Khalil protesters clashed with NYPD officers earlier this week, while a smaller group of protesters targeted border czar Tom Homan’s meeting with Republican lawmakers in the state capital of Albany.
On Thursday, protests continued when dozens of activists with “The Jewish Voice For Peace” stormed and occupied Trump Tower in New York City. Protesters wore matching red shirts reading “Jews say stop arming Israel,” and chanted “bring Mahmoud home now!”
After protesters defied NYPD warning to vacate the Fifth Avenue building, 98 protesters were arrested on various charges, including trespassing, obstruction and resisting arrest, a department official announced during a press briefing.
Among those arrested during Thursday’s protests was Debra Winger, a Hollywood actress who appeared in “Terms of Endearment” and “Wilder Napalm.” Winger accused the Trump Administration of having “no interest in Jewish safety” and “co-opting antisemitism.”
“I’m just standing up for my rights, and I’m standing up for Mahmoud Khalil, who has been abducted illegally and taken to an undisclosed location,” she told The Associated Press. “Does that sound like America to you?”
Kaz Daughtry, the deputy mayor for public safety and a former longtime New York Police Department official, said no one was injured in Thursday’s protest. He added that the department will be reviewing protocols in order to prevent future breaches of the building.
Trump Tower serves as the headquarters for the Trump Organization and is where the president stays when he is in New York City. While protests outside the building are quite common, protests inside the building are more rare.
