Police arrested nearly 100 demonstrators Thursday who stormed Trump Tower in Midtown Manhattan demanding the release of Columbia University activist Mahmoud Khalil.
The noisy crowd of about 150 people occupied the building’s lobby, chanting slogans such as “free Mahmoud, free them all,” and displaying signs including “Fight Nazis Not Students” before police broke up the rally and arrested 98 protesters.
“I’m very proud to say there were no incidents whatsoever,” NYPD Chief of Department John Chell told New York Fox affiliate WNYW-5. “We did it safely, calmly, and we accomplished what we had to do with our Secret Service partners and Trump security.”
The protest organized by the group Jewish Voice for Peace came in response to the Saturday arrest of Mr. Khalil, 31, who helped lead last year’s chaotic anti-Israel demonstrations at Columbia University as a graduate student.
A federal judge placed a temporary hold Monday on the Homeland Security Department’s effort to deport Mr. Khalil, a Syrian-born Palestinian who resides in the country as a legal resident on a green card.
He is currently being held at an immigration detention center in Louisiana.
“We will not stand by as this fascist regime attempts to criminalize Palestinians and all those calling for an end to the Israeli government’s US-funded genocide of the Palestinian people,” said Jewish Voice for Peace in a statement. “We will never stop fighting for a free Palestine.”
President Trump and his family have a residence in the tower, which also contains the golden escalator down which Mr. Trump descended to announce his 2016 presidential run. His 18-year-old son Barron Trump lives there while attending New York University.
“My understanding is that when Barron is there in school, he is staying at Trump Tower,” Lara Trump, the president’s daughter-in-law, told Fox News Channel host Will Cain. “I’m not sure whether or not he was actually there today or not.”
She condemned the protesters for targeting the mixed residential-and-commercial property, saying that the demonstration was “probably very frightening to a lot of people who live there, who work there.”
 BREAKING: Unhinged pro-Hamas mobs storm Trump Tower in NYC!
The left is losing their minds over a terrorist sympathizer—while staying dead silent on innocent hostages still held by Hamas.
Their priorities?
DEFEND terrorists.
IGNORE their victims. pic.twitter.com/ImZJONdw9y
— Wesley Hunt (@WesleyHuntTX) March 13, 2025
Most of the protesters are expected to face trespassing charges, with some likely charged with resisting arrest.
Mrs. Trump noted that the protest looked like it had some money behind it. Most of the activists wore matching red T-shirts, and the banners they carried were professionally printed, not home-made.
“It seems like the same people who have been funding all the chaos on campuses that have been terrifying to Jewish students, that have prevented people from going and learning, are probably the same people funding this,” said Mrs. Trump, who hosts the weekend show “My View with Lara Trump” on Fox.
From 2019-21, Jewish Voice for Peace received donations from groups including the Kaphan Foundation, the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, the Quitiplas Foundation, the Matthew G. Krane Foundation, and the Open Society Policy Center, according to NGO Monitor.
Democrats have denounced Mr. Khalil’s arrest as an assault on freedom of expression, while Secretary of State Marco Rubio has insisted that the case is “not about free speech,” noting that non-citizens may be denied entry or have their permanent residence revoked for expressing support for designated terrorist groups like Hamas.
“The guy in question does not have a right,” Mrs. Trump said. “It is a privilege to have a green card and a visa in the United States of America. I think [the protesters] are going to be very upset with the outcome.”
