Fourteen people were arrested Wednesday after demonstrators protesting Immigration and Customs Enforcement blocked entrances to New York City's Brooklyn Bridge, disrupting traffic for about an hour. In a separate incident earlier in the week, police arrested a man accused of spray-painting several victims' names at the 9/11 Memorial.
The bridge protest began around 12:30 p.m. on October 28, with demonstrators arrested and removed by approximately 1:30 p.m., according to ABC7. Traffic backed up bumper to bumper as drivers waited for access to the bridge. The New York Police Department confirmed the 14 arrests to Fox News Digital and said no injuries had been reported.
Video of the demonstration showed frustrated motorists asking protesters to let them through, including drivers trying to reach work. Demonstrators used a megaphone to chant comparisons between the NYPD, the Ku Klux Klan and ICE. Police eventually arrived and removed the people blocking traffic.
One demonstrator called for the release of Oscar Bergal, a Dominican national whom the source described as being in the country illegally. His arrest by ICE earlier in October resulted in a shooting in Manhattan's Marble Hill neighborhood. Fox News Digital said it had contacted the mayor's office for comment on the bridge demonstration.
Separately, Port Authority Police confirmed that Johnathan Tijerina, 31, was arrested in connection with alleged vandalism at the 9/11 Memorial. On Monday, October 26, the words "just stop killing kids" were sprayed over several names engraved on the memorial.
Tijerina appeared in a video he recorded of himself spray-painting the memorial, which his organization, Just Stop Killing Kids, shared. In another post, the organization identified him as Jon Tijerina and described his arrest as involving red paint sprayed on Freedom Tower. It said he wanted Trump and Mamdani to implement universal background checks and a national gun registry.
A spokesperson for the 9/11 Memorial & Museum told Fox News Digital that security personnel and law enforcement responded promptly and restored the affected area. The spokesperson described the memorial as a place for reflection honoring the 2,983 people killed in the September 11, 2001, and February 26, 1993, terrorist attacks, and said the incident was addressed swiftly.
