Pro-Palestinian protesters took over parts of the Brooklyn Museum in New York on Friday, amidst chaos and skirmishes with police at the scene. Some individuals were arrested, but a spokesperson for the New York Police Department stated that there would be no official count of detainees until the protest concluded. An eyewitness reported that one arrest was made of a man who defaced an outdoor statue with drawings, and many protesters wrote messages on a statue in the plaza outside the entrance.
Hundreds of protesters have taken over the lobby of the Brooklyn Museum demanding the cultural institution take a stand against genocide and divest from profiteering off war.
A spokesperson for the museum in an email stated, "Artworks that were recently installed in our plaza have been damaged, the protesters entered the building, and our public safety staff were subjected to physical and verbal harassment." He added, "Out of concern for the building, our collections, and our staff, the decision was made to close the building one hour earlier than scheduled." A banner was hung from the top of the museum's facade reading "Free Palestine, Stop the Genocide."
Demonstrations condemning the Israeli war on Gaza continue across the United States, with most of these protests occurring at universities.
