A sit-in at New York City’s Trump Tower is underway as protesters gathered to demand the release of Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian activist detained over the weekend by federal immigration agents.
The organization Jewish Voice for Peace livestreamed the Thursday sit-in, showing hundreds of demonstrators packed into the building’s lobby. Some held signs that read “Fight Nazis not students,” “Free Mahmoud free Palestine,” and “You can’t deport a movement.”
Many people could be heard chanting “Free Mahmoud.”
“Jewish Voice for Peace demands the Trump administration release Palestinian student Mahmoud Khalil from ICE detention. The detention of Mahmoud is further proof that we are on the brink of a full takeover by a repressive, authoritarian regime,” the group said in a statement.
Khalil, a 30-year-old Columbia University graduate and a green card holder, was arrested Saturday by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. His attorney, Amy Greer, said Khalil was told that his student visa was being revoked.
He is being held at a Louisiana immigration detention facility.
A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said Khalil was detained in coordination with ICE and the State Department in support of President Donald Trump’s “executive orders prohibiting anti-Semitism.” The spokesperson said Khalil “led activities aligned to Hamas, a designated terrorist organization.”
Trump and his administration have not provided evidence of the allegations against him.
A person narrating the livestream of the protest said “over 200 Jews and friends” had taken over Trump Tower.
“We’re saying when you come for one of us, you face us all,” the person said.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
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