Pro-Palestinian demonstrations broke out near the Metropolitan Museum of Art on Monday night, May 6 as celebrities gathered for the annual Met Gala event.
The New York Police Department confirmed multiple people were arrested in the protests, though it did not specify a number. Footage on social media showed groups of people marching near the Met Gala, shouting “free Palestine” and banging drums.
In some videos, traffic on Park Avenue appeared at a standstill as protestors flooded the streets. Some protestors set off smoke bombs and flares
According to reports, the protesters were rallying across the city in a “citywide day of rage,” marching from Hunter College and through Central Park to attempt to disrupt the fundraising event. The NYPD set up various blockades in the area surrounding the Met Gala to prevent protestors from getting close to the gala and instructed protestors to leave the roadways.
The demonstration comes as pro-Palestinian protests roil college campuses across the country, prompting the arrests of hundreds of students and faculty over the past three weeks. Demonstrators are calling for universities and the U.S. to sever ties with Israel over the country’s war with Hamas in Gaza, which has killed more than 34,000 Palestinians since early October.
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