Police on Sunday said 19 people were busted during the massive anti-Israel rally in Brooklyn where thousands of rowdy demonstrators clashed with cops.
According to the NYPD, 16 protesters were arrested and issued criminal court summonses, while three others were taken into custody and released on desk appearance tickets.
The “Flood Brooklyn for Palestine” protest on Saturday shut down traffic in Bay Ridge for hours as the NYPD struggled to contain the mob, which lobbed eggs at cops and lit fires in the street while waving Palestinian flags.
One young protester was seen trying to keep cops from pulling away a woman holding a “Zionism is Genocide” sign.
A law enforcement source described it as “pretty heated.”
“During the course of a planned protest for which a permit was not attained, officers encountered a mostly peaceful crowd,” an NYPD spokesperson said in a statement. “Some demonstrators within the crowd chose to act in a combative and aggressive manner. Officers were pushed, shoved, and struck by some demonstrators within the crowd after the LRAD [long-range acoustic device] device was utilized.
“Officers were struck with flying debris which included eggs, fireworks, and bottles. Officers responded to this disruptive behavior and attempted to regain order by taking into custody those responsible for these actions,” the statement said. “The NYPD encourages peaceful protests but will not condone our officers being subjected to any form of violence.”
The three demonstrators taken into custody on misdemeanor charges were Marwan Hamed, Gabriella Flanagan and Umahani Hamad, police said.
Hamed, 29, of Staten Island, was charged with resisting arrest, disorderly conduct and failure to use a sidewalk, cops said.
Flanagan, 23, of Brooklyn, was charged with resisting arrest, obstructing governmental administration, disorderly conduct and failure to use a sidewalk, the NYPD said.
Hamad, 18, of Brooklyn, was charged with resisting arrest and disorderly conduct, police said.
The unrest in Bay Ridge — which boasts a substantial Arab-American population — is just the latest in a string of protests following the Oct. 7 surprise attack on Israel by Hamas terrorists that killed more than 1,400 Israelis.
Most of those killed in the sneak attack were civilians, including at a kibbutz near the Gaza border and at a rave where revelers were gunned down by the militants.
Israel’s retaliatory strikes in the Gaza Strip have sparked further protests in the Big Apple and beyond.
The unrest unfolded after about 5,000 protesters took to the streets and gathered at 72nd Street and Fifth Avenue in Bay Ridge earlier on Saturday demanding that the US withdraw support for Israel.
“We are not like other groups simply calling for a cease-fire,” one protester said at the demonstration. “We are calling not simply for an end to genocide. We are calling for an end to the siege, an end to the blockade. And end to the occupation.”
City Councilman Ari Kagan lambasted the demonstration, calling it “shameless.”
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“This was not a rally for a two-state solution or for the liberation of Gaza from Hamas or [a] public all to free hundreds of kidnapped Israelis and Americans,” Kagan wrote on X.
“It was a shameful pro-Hamas & anti-Israel rally that I strongly condemn.”
The raucous rally came one day after nearly 200 pro-Palestinian protesters were arrested for blocking traffic in Manhattan at a demonstration sponsored by the Democratic Socialists of America.
One demonstrator at a rally in Midtown Manhattan earlier this month flashed a swastika.
Additional reporting by Larry Celona.
