Latest news with #protests
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- General
- Yahoo
Nadler staffer briefly detained by DHS in altercation at lawmaker's Manhattan office
Officers with the Department of Homeland Security briefly detained a staff member in Rep. Jerry Nadler's (D-N.Y.) Manhattan office during an incident on Wednesday, as protests took place outside an immigration courthouse in the same federal facility as the representative's office. The incident, first reported by the news outlet Gothamist on Friday, was captured on video. In the recording, a DHS officer can be heard saying that members of Nadler's staff were 'harboring rioters' in their office while another officer cuffs a crying staffer. 'I'm a federal officer,' the DHS official said to a second staff member in the video posted by Gothamist, adding 'we have the right to check' the office. The second staff member, who can be seen initially blocking the officer's entry to a private area in the office, asked whether the officers had a warrant to search the space, to which the officer replied negatively. The staff member eventually acquiesced, allowing the officer to walk through the area. According to a statement from DHS, Federal Protective Service officers showed up at Nadler's office to 'conduct a security check' because they were 'concerned about the safety of the federal employees in the office' after hearing reports of 'incidents' nearby. The statement did not mention the issue of 'harboring rioters' that the officer referred to in the video. DHS officers identified themselves and entered the office, where they were met by four people who remained unnamed in the agency's statement. One of the individuals 'became verbally confrontational and physically blocked access to the office,' the statement to POLITICO read, prompting the officers to detain the person in the hallway as they proceeded with their search. According to the statement, all parties 'were released without further incident.' Robert Gottheim, Nadler's co-chief of staff, confirmed to Gothamist that there was no arrest but otherwise declined to comment. Gottheim acknowledged a Saturday email from POLITICO, and said a comment would be forthcoming. The rare altercation between federal officers and congressional staff in a legislator's office comes amid growing friction over President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown and mass deportation efforts, which have sparked protests across the country and embroiled the administration in a battle with the courts over the legality of the president's policies. The incident is not the first clash between federal authorities and Democratic officials or the judiciary over immigration policy. The FBI arrested Milwaukee County Judge Hannah Dugan last month for allegedly assisting a man who is in the country illegally evade immigration officials who were seeking his arrest in her courthouse. Dugan pleaded not guilty to the charges in federal court earlier in May. White House border czar Tom Homan also threatened the state's Democratic governor, Tony Evers, suggesting he could become the next target for the administration's wrath after Evers' office issued guidance to state employees on how to deal with immigration authorities. 'Wait till you see what's coming," Homan told reporters about Evers' message earlier this month. "If you cross that line of impediment or knowingly harboring and concealing an illegal alien, that is a felony. And we'll treat it as such.' The incident at Nadler's office, which shares a federal building with an immigration courthouse in lower Manhattan, took place the same day as significant protests against the arrest of a Bronx high school student by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials the week prior. According to an NYPD spokesperson, 23 people were taken into custody during the Wednesday evening protests, while 18 people were given criminal court summonses and five were arrested and charged.
CTV News
3 hours ago
- General
- CTV News
Postal worker rallies commence across Canada
CTV's Kamil Karamali on the postal worker rallies that are happening across the country as negotiations have broken down between both sides.
Asharq Al-Awsat
4 hours ago
- General
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Libya Protesters Call on PM to Quit in Third Weekly March
Hundreds of protesters gathered in central Tripoli on Friday for the third week in a row to demand the resignation of UN-recognized Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dbeibah following recent clashes in Libya's capital. At least 200 people had assembled by late afternoon, with several hundred more following suit later. Some blasted slogans on loudspeakers from their cars. Libya is split between the UN-recognized government in Tripoli, led by Dbeibah, and a rival administration in the east controlled by the family of military strongman Khalifa Haftar. The North African country has remained deeply divided since the 2011 NATO-backed revolt that toppled and killed longtime leader Moamer Kadhafi. National elections scheduled for December 2021 were postponed indefinitely due to disputes between the two rival powers, AFP reported. The recent unrest came after deadly clashes between armed groups controlling different areas of Tripoli killed at least eight people, according to the UN. The clashes were sparked by the killing of an armed faction leader by a group aligned with Dbeibah's government -- the 444 Brigade which later fought a third group, the Radaa force that controls parts of eastern Tripoli and the city's airport. The fighting broke out also after Dbeibah announced a string of executive orders seeking to dismantle Radaa and dissolve other Tripoli-based armed groups but excluding the 444 Brigade. The government and UN support mission in Libya have been pressing efforts to reach a permanent ceasefire since. Last Saturday, a separate protest in Tripoli drew hundreds in support of Dbeibah. Demonstrators condemned the armed groups and called for the reinstatement of Libya's 1951 constitution, which was abolished by Kadhafi after his 1969 coup.
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- General
- Yahoo
Seattle pastor details wild scene after worship event 'swarmed' by protesters
A Seattle pastor is speaking out after violent protests engulfed a worship event earlier in May and persisted in a follow-up event on Tuesday outside City Hall. Organizers hosted a Mayday USA rally at Cal Anderson Park in Seattle on Saturday, which The Pursuit NW Pastor Russell Johnson helped lead. The event reportedly offered free haircuts, free bike giveaways and free groceries for the community as well as time for prayer and worship. The event was later "swarmed" by protesters, some of whom reportedly threw urine-filled water balloons at attendees, and more than 20 arrests were made. "[Saturday's] event has, of course, been labeled by the media as some sort of anti-LGBT-type rally, and it wasn't," Johnson said Thursday on "The Ingraham Angle." Fbi To Probe Claims Of 'Targeted Violence' Against Religious Group After Evangelicals' Protest In Seattle "We were swarmed by hundreds of Antifa militants... They were throwing water-balloons filled with urine at Christians who stood in the park and were assaulted for the high crime of worshiping Jesus in a public space," Johnson told Fox News host Laura Ingraham. Read On The Fox News App After police reported multiple arrests at Saturday's rally, Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell's office released a statement defending the LGBTQ community and protesters while criticizing the "far-right rally" for provoking the violent reaction. "Seattle is proud of our reputation as a welcoming, inclusive city for LGBTQ+ communities, and we stand with our trans neighbors when they face bigotry and injustice," the statement read. "Today's far-right rally was held here for this very reason — to provoke a reaction by promoting beliefs that are inherently opposed to our city's values, in the heart of Seattle's most prominent LGBTQ+ neighborhood." Seattle Mayor Accused Of Lying After Blaming Christian Rally For Park Violence While the mayor seemed to pin blame on the Christian group, Johnson rejected the notion that the Mayday event was designed to "provoke" a reaction. While a portion of the rally provided a space for parents and individuals who had de-transitioned to share their testimony and highlight concerns with transgender ideology, Johnson said it was done in an "uplifting, hopeful, God can change anything, Jesus has the power to transform your life" way. "It wasn't this Westboro Baptist, hateful rhetoric. It was people sharing a hopeful, optimistic outlook on what it looks like when God begins to work in your life," he told Ingraham. In response to the mayor, Johnson helped organize an event at Seattle City Hall on Tuesday, which he said was met with "similar" opposition from protesters. "Antifa was out in force. They bloodied and beat up good church people who stood in line to try to get into a rally to sing hymns and worship songs and pray for the direction of the city," Johnson said. The pastor noted that after announcing Tuesday's rally, he was "inundated" with support from people beyond Christian and conservative circles who wanted to "stand with Christians at City Hall because we believe in the First Amendment." Harrell's press secretary, Callie Craighead, previously told Fox News Digital that Harrell "remains steadfast in his denouncement of rhetoric from groups whose messages promote exclusion, intolerance, and undermine the dignity and rights of any community member — particularly those that are marginalized, like our LGBTQ+ community." Craighead added at the time: "As a Christian himself, the mayor is guided by the Christian values of love and justice, and his comments have specifically addressed ideologies that are in contrast to Seattle's commitment to being a welcoming city for all. Like any faith community, Christianity is not a monolith — and many Christians throughout Seattle do not hold the beliefs expressed by the organizers of the Mayday rally." Johnson criticized Harrell's stance, arguing the Seattle mayor has "terminated his political career by releasing those statements." "It's a clown show with these leftist, agitator-supporting politicians who are so out of touch with a wide swath of their constituents," he said. Harrell's office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment for this article. FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino said Tuesday he had requested an investigation into allegations of "targeted violence" against religious groups after the rally at Seattle City Hall in response to the mayor purportedly blaming Christian activists for igniting a weekend demonstration that turned violent. Fox News Digital's Lindsay Kornick contributed to this report. Original article source: Seattle pastor details wild scene after worship event 'swarmed' by protesters
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
How actress Gal Gadot became a lightning rod for anti-Israel hate
Hollywood actress Gal Gadot is currently dashing around the streets of London while filming her new movie The Runner. But the surrounding Metropolitan Police presence isn't part of this fictional action thriller: officers have been deployed to the set in response to demonstrators targeting Gadot due to her Israeli nationality. It's the latest incident in a concerted and increasingly vehement campaign. The prominent Wonder Woman star has become a lightning rod for anti-Israeli sentiment since the October 7 Hamas terrorist attack in 2023 and subsequent military escalation and humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Five people were arrested near Gadot's film set in Westminster on Wednesday. According to a Metropolitan Police statement, in recent weeks 'protestors have disrupted filming at various locations across London. They have done so solely because an actress involved in the production is Israeli.' The protestors were arrested for harassment and for wrongfully and unlawfully obstructing access to a workplace. Just a few days earlier, last Sunday morning, keffiyeh-wearing activists also gathered on Waterloo Bridge where Gadot was filming. They banged metal saucepan lids, blared sirens and shouted chants through megaphones like 'Gal Gadot, you can't hide'. The protestors also displayed Palestinian flags and signs with slogans such as, 'Trash Gadot not welcome in London!', and a large red banner with the message 'Stop starving Gaza'. Officers from Scotland Yard were called to the scene and moved the protestors away, although no arrests were made. The aggressive targeting of Gadot, 40, isn't confined to London, either. Earlier this week her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Los Angeles was defaced, with vandals writing 'Baby killer' in black pen and changing her surname from Gadot to 'Greestien' – the latter a misspelling of her Jewish family's original name Greenstein, which was changed before Gadot was born. The vandals also added a sticker reading 'Israeli snipers target children'. The Campaign Against Antisemitism denounced the defacement in a statement, saying: 'Medieval antisemitic tropes like the blood libel [a false accusation of ritualised murder] are alive and well. Parts of humanity really haven't progressed at all.' Gadot, who has not commented publicly on the protests, has previously spoken of her immense pride at receiving her star on the Walk of Fame. Speaking at the unveiling ceremony in March, she said: 'I'm just a girl from a town in Israel. This star will remind me that with hard work and passion and some faith, anything is possible.' But as pro-Palestinian protestors continue to target the very visible Gadot, is her Hollywood dream turning into a nightmare? Disney's dismal live-action version of Snow White, released in March, might have been a box office bomb anyway, but the surrounding political firestorm certainly didn't help its chances. In the PR circus in the run-up to the film's release, all of the focus was on the opposing views of its two stars and their reported rift. Rachel Zegler, playing the titular princess, drew criticism after she posted the movie's trailer online with the comment 'And always remember, free Palestine' – as did Gadot, for her support of Israel. Gadot was born in Petah Tikva to Jewish parents of European descent. Her mother, Irit, is the daughter of Holocaust survivors and, at the age of 11, Gadot was taken to visit Holocaust sites in Poland. Many of the activists now seeking to cancel the actress call her a 'soldier', citing her time in the Israel Defence Forces (IDF). However, Gadot didn't choose to become a soldier: service in the IDF is compulsory. She was conscripted into the army aged 20, and spent much of her mandatory two years of service working as a combat trainer, teaching fitness. She also learned martial arts techniques such as Krav Maga. Speaking to Canadian magazine Fashion in 2016, Gadot said: 'There is something special in giving back to your community.' When the statuesque Gadot burst onto cinema screens as the new Wonder Woman in 2017, both reviewers and fans admired that military-honed strength and athleticism. The fact that she is a real-life ass-kicking woman with muscular limbs lent authenticity to this empowering female superhero. How times have changed: now that same history is held against her. Conversely, Gadot has also been criticised by her countrymen for her relatively measured statements. In 2019, responding to president Benjamin Netanyahu's assertion that Israel is 'not a state of all its citizens', Gadot wrote a now-deleted post on Instagram striking a very different tone. 'Love thy neighbor,' she said. 'It is not a matter of right or left, Arabs or Jews, secular or religious. It is a matter of […] dialogue for peace, and of our tolerance for each other.' In 2021, during the Israel-Palestine crisis, Netanyahu's son Yair unfavourably compared Gadot's public statements with what he termed the 'antisemitic propaganda' coming from models Gigi and Bella Hadid, who are of Palestinian descent. Yair complained on Twitter that the only comparable high-profile Israeli celebrity, Gadot, had chosen to 'write a neutral post [on Instagram] as if she was from Switzerland'. But Gadot has been more vocal and more partisan since the horrific terrorist attack on her home country in October 2023. She posted the names of the 80 Israeli hostages on her social media along with hashtags like #BringThemBack and #ReleaseTheHostages. Speaking to Variety in March, she explained: 'When people were abducted from their homes, from their beds, men, women, children, elderly, Holocaust survivors […] I could not be silent. I was shocked by the amount of hate.' She concluded: 'I had to speak up.' Yet Gadot, who is a mother of four, added a clarification: 'I am praying for better days for all. I want everybody to have good life and prosperity, and the ability to raise their children in a safe environment.' That month she also made an impassioned speech at the Anti-Defamation League's Never Is Now event. 'None of us can ignore the explosion of Jew-hatred around the world any more,' said Gadot. 'My name is Gal, and I'm Jewish, and we have had enough of Jew-hatred.' Gadot, a vocal feminist, specifically addressed the horrific treatment of female Israelis attacked by Hamas, saying: 'On October 7, Jewish women were sexually terrorised, raped, murdered and kidnapped by Hamas.' She continued: 'We were all hoping to hear support from our sisters around the world and too often heard silence.' She backed Israel's entrant in the Eurovision Song Contest, Yuval Raphael, too, who was also the target of vociferous protestors, including an attempt by two people to scupper her performance by rushing the stage. The protests came despite the fact that Raphael sustained shrapnel injuries during the Nova festival massacre. In a video call ahead of the final, Gadot told Raphael (who would go on to storm into second place overall after winning the public vote): 'You've already won – now it's just about enjoying it.' But regardless of how, and how much, Gadot publicly engages with the complex and emotional issues surrounding Gaza, she is doing so as a private citizen – not a member of the Israeli government or military. She might be in London filming a glamorous movie for a six-figure salary, rather than trudging into an office, but she is still doing her job, as are her cast mates and crew. Does her A-lister fame mean she is fair game for protestors to interrupt her at work? Perhaps the bigger worry for the 40-year-old actress and mum is whether this could tank her career – either through boycotts of her movies, or the costs and headaches for studios of protecting her. Disney reportedly had to beef up security for Gadot after she received death threats during that ill-fated Snow White press tour. Not exactly a Hollywood happily ever after. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. 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