More than one thousand pro-Palestine protestors clashed with the NYPD just blocks away from New York’s Met Gala on Monday evening.
Hundreds were seen marching from Hunter College a mile down the road but they were met with a swift response from the NYPD who had been bracing for the possibility that demonstrators might make an appearance.
Dozens of protestors were arrested along Madison Avenue and the East 80s as the police attempted to ensure none of the demonstrators spilled over onto neighboring Fifth Avenue where the Met Gala was taking place.
Initially, the police appeared to be successful in diverting the protestors away from where the Gala was taking place leaving the bulk of protestors marching down Park Avenue several blocks away – but it wasn’t long demonstrator smashed through metal barriers and began walking down Fifth Avenue.
Protestors could be seen holding placards, banging drums, waving flags and chanting ‘free, free Palestine!’. Others set off flares and red and green smoke – the colors of the Palestinian flag.
The protests — officially billed as part of a ‘Day Of Rage For Gaza: From The Encampments To The Streets’ — began earlier on Monday afternoon at Columbia University and NYU downtown with the two groups merging close to the Gala.
A woman was forced to the ground by officers with the NYPD as she was placed under arrest
One thousand pro-Palestine protestors clashed with the NYPD just a block away from New York’s Met Gala on Monday evening
Dozens of protestors were arrested along Madison Avenue and East 84th Street as the police attempted to ensure none of the demonstrators spilled over to neighboring Fifth Avenue where the Met Gala was taking place
Hundreds marched from Hunter College just one mile down the road up to where the gala was taking place
Protestors were met with a swift response from the NYPD who had been bracing for them
A woman wearing a keffiyeh is placed under arrest by the NYPD
The police appeared ready to ward off the protestors as they marched to the Upper East Side
A woman wearing a keffiyeh was quickly placed in zip ties and placed under arrest
Police arrest a pro-Palestinian demonstrator near the Met Gala
Police face pro-Palestinian demonstrators near the Met Gala
Police arrest a pro-Palestinian demonstrator near the Met Gala on Monday evening
Demonstrators were promptly arrested after refusing to obey police demands
Police arrest a pro-Palestinian demonstrator near the Met Gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art
Police arrest an ultra-Orthodox Jewish pro-Palestinian demonstrator near the Met Gala
Police arrest a pro-Palestinian demonstrator near the Met Gala
Police arrest an ultra-Orthodox Jewish pro-Palestinian demonstrator
Dozens of people were arrested by the NYPD on Monday night
The protestors could be seen marching along Fifth Avenue towards the Met Gala
Various signs showing support for Palestine were held
Police watch pro-Palestinian demonstrators near the Met Gala at they prepare to face off demonstrators
One man was quickly placed in handcuffs on Monday evening
Police could be seen carrying dozens of zip ties are they prepared to make arrests
A pro-Palestinian protester is apprehended on-site even before the Met Gala begins in New York City
NYPD officers are seen outside the 2024 Met Gala as they prepare for any disruption
Pro-Palestine protestors descended on New York’s Met Gala on Monday evening even before it had begun in earnest
Both protests met up at CUNY Hunter College at 5pm – just one mile from the Met, or about 20 minutes walk away before they made their way uptown.
After facing off with police, demonstrators then started to march along Park Avenue blocking the southbound side of the roadway.
Before the highlight of the fashion calendar got underway, outside The Met, one protestor was quickly placed in handcuffs and arrested by police.
Other uniformed officers could be seen walking along the streets armed with dozens of plastic zip ties should any further protestors wish to make an appearance and cause disruption.
The NYPD had earlier said that it was well prepared, adding that it would ‘have an adequate security deployment.’
NYPD Sources said the Met will have a larger security contingent than normal with both plain clothes police inside and outside the museum along Fifth Avenue, at the iconic Upper East Side venue.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams together with the police noted how ‘outside agitators’ had been involved in the college demonstrations that had overrun college campuses across the city over the last two weeks.
Protestors were met with a swift response from the NYPD who had been bracing for the possibility that protestors might make an appearance
The NYPD had earlier said that it was well prepared, adding that it would ‘have an adequate security deployment.’
Officers take a person away in handcuffs outside the 2024 Met Gala on Monday evening
Actor Chris Hemsworth and his wife make a grand entrance under tight New York Police Department security at the Met Gala in New York City
On Monday afternoon, there were around 200 demonstrators at the protest
The protest was expected to move north toward the Met Gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art
Hunter College said all security measures that are being taken are out of an abundance of caution
Gaza demonstrators have not shied away from disrupting other high-profile events in the city including the 2023 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and last year’s Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree lighting.
The Met Gala sees some of the biggest names in film, fashion, music, sports, politics, and social media, making it something of a lightning rod for protests.
Nationwide campus protests began at Columbia in response to Israel’s offensive in Gaza.
Earlier in the day, the Ivy League school announced the cancelation of its university-wide commencement ceremony, scheduled for May 15.
Hundreds of pro-Palestinian protesters gathered on Monday evening at Manhattan’s Hunter College, just a mile away from the star-studded 2024 Met Gala
The message from the protestors was clear as they called for the war in Gaza to end
Students could be seen displaying signs from within Hunter College
Anti-Israel activists planned a ‘Citywide Day of Rage for Gaza’ at Hunter College in New York
NYPD officers put barricades in place outside Hunter College’s entrance on East 68th Street and Lexington Avenue starting at 3pm on Monday
Demonstrators held a multitude of signs and Palestinian flags
The signs called for for ceasefire and called for the war in Gaza to stop
Some students displayed their solidarity for the marchers from inside
Anna Wintour at the 2024 Met Gala: ‘Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion’ held at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City