Pposters, smoke bombs and flares nearly blended in with the cameras and excited fans as dozens of pro-Palestinian protesters tried to reach the Met Gala on Monday night to disrupt the lavish event in New York City.
As celebrities made their elegant entrances on the steps of the Metropolitan Museum of Art (MET), hundreds of protesters gathered in front of Hunter College as part of the “Citywide Day of Rage,” where schools across New York participated in demonstrations protesting against Israel’s continued attack on Gaza, according to images shared by the reporter Katie Smith on X (Hunter College is about 2 km from MET). Protesters demand that Israel withdraw from the Rafah invasion and call for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war.
Pro-Palestinian protesters took “flooding the streets of New York City in defense of Rafah,” marching down Madison Avenue on Manhattan’s Upper East Side before removing barricades blocking access to 5th Avenue and the museum. Shouts of “It’s called Divestment! We will not stop. We will not rest!” could be heard as the group approached the party.
At around 7:11 pm, protesters approached the MET and walked down Park Avenue. Some fired smoke bombs and flares. They removed additional barricades along the way.
Images posted on X appear to show NYPD officers detaining protesters outside the gala, with others shouting “Let them go” while standing across the street.
And as several stars ascended the MET stairs, protesters continued to take detours and make sudden turns in an attempt to evade NYPD officers, according to Smith. Officers from the NYPD’s Strategic Response Group (SRG) followed them, but the protesters reportedly moved out onto the sidewalks before returning to the street. Smith would later report that the demonstrations were reversed and returned to Park Avenue.
Several people were arrested, the NYPD confirmed to The Independent. They did not provide additional details about the arrests.
Demonstrations and encampments on college campuses across the U.S. and around the world have grown steadily in recent weeks as student and faculty protesters have demanded that their institutions divest from companies that support or do business in Israel.
The protests have led to the arrest and suspension of thousands of students while having costly impacts on colleges. Columbia University announced Monday that it would cancel the university’s main commencement ceremony in favor of smaller ones, following discussions with student leaders and after weeks of unrest.
This story originally appeared on Time.com read the full story
