Pro-Palestinian protesters arrested outside The New York Times
Many times, returning from interesting meetings organized by the New York Graduate School of Journalism, I passed by the building that is located next to The New York Times newspaper and, of course, I read this newspaper with interest.
On Thursday, pro-Palestinian protesters were arrested outside The New York Times newspaper hours after a demonstration.
It's hard for me, as an American journalist, to imagine how pro-Palestinian protesters swarmed The New York Times printing plant in Queens and more than 100 demonstrators were arrested outside the newspaper's Manhattan headquarters.
About 150 people entered the lobby of The New York Times building in Manhattan on March 14, around 10 a.m.
Police say 124 people were taken into custody. Most of them will most likely receive summonses for disorderly conduct. Those who were not arrested stood outside the building and chanted, claiming that the newspaper's coverage of Israel's war with Hamas led to deaths in the Gaza Strip. They also handed out counterfeit copies of The New York Times to passersby. It came hours after protesters blocked trucks from entering The New York Times' 300,000-square-foot printing plant in College Point, Queens, around 1 a.m. by blocking roads with debris.
Many held hands and held signs reading: “Stop the press. Free Palestine” and “Genocide is being consented to here.”
Protesters created a pile of office equipment trash to further block access. As a result of the action, dozens of trucks were unable to pick up the newspapers, leading to congestion on nearby streets. Protesters refused to disperse for about two hours before clearing the way around 3:30 a.m.
The company is responsible for printing The New York Times, USA Today,
The Wall Street Journal, Newsday and New York Post. Available throughout the country
27 printing houses.
In a statement, The New York Times, which is trying to be politically correct in this situation, said readers should expect "minimal disruption" from the protest.
“The war between Israel and Hamas is a complex and difficult story, and we receive criticism from every side. We are open to good faith disagreement, but strongly reject any claim that our coverage is biased. We support the right of groups and individuals to express their views, even those we disagree with, about our reporting, but we will not allow criticism or propaganda campaigns to derail our independent reporting.”
Marina Lagunova
