Columbus Circle Barricades Return After Police Arrest Protesters

MIDTOWN MANHATTAN, NY — Police arrested five people and put back their barricades around Columbus Circle after a Thursday night protest ended with scuffles between officers and demonstrators — and the vandalism of a monument in Central Park.

The protest began at the Stonewall Inn, the iconic Greenwich Village bar that has hosted weekly demonstrations over the past year. Demanding justice for Ma'Khia Bryant — a 16-year-old shot and killed by police in Columbus, Ohio this week — demonstrators marched up Eighth Avenue into Columbus Circle.

There, the U.S.S. Maine Monument at the entrance to Central Park was vandalized with red paint and spray-painted with phrases including "Stonewall was a riot" and "Stop killing kids," according to videos posted to Twitter.

By Friday afternoon, dozens of cops stood guard near the central Christopher Columbus statue and outside the Time Warner Center. The circle, which was barricaded for nine months until the NYPD finally removed the obstructions last month, was once again blocked off.

Why are there 100 cops defending Columbus Circle? pic.twitter.com/vwrJ0jgb0u
— Armenoush (@armenoush_nyc) April 23, 2021

Thursday night's arrests included a 32-year-old man and a 20-year-old woman, both from Brooklyn, whom police accused of dumping the red paint and making other graffiti, as well as resisting arrest and disorderly conduct.

Meanwhile, shortly before midnight, a 23-year-old Hell's Kitchen man and a 20-year-old Bronx woman were arrested on Fifth Avenue near East 59th Street on charges of "obstructing governmental administration" — a catch-all term that police often deploy when arresting protesters.

On Twitter, demonstrators claimed that police "attacked" the protest on the East side of the park once it was already dispersing.

We respect's everyone right to peacefully protest, but vandalism is not part of peaceful protest. We are working to de-escalate the situation to prevent further damage from occurring. pic.twitter.com/UQ9FVl6f69
— NYPD NEWS (@NYPDnews) April 23, 2021

"After a night of peaceful protesting, NYPD waited for most protesters to leave, and then swarmed those remaining on the sidewalk," the group Protest NYC tweeted.

The NYPD, in turn, tweeted that "We respect's everyone right to peacefully protest, but vandalism is not part of peaceful protest," alongside a video of the Columbus Circle vandalism.

The final two arrests happened just after midnight, when officers noticed a 26-year-old woman hitting a 20-year-old man with a skateboard, according to police. Police arrested the woman after she allegedly spat at an officer, while the man was issued a summons for disorderly conduct.

Thursday night's events came hours after a separate protest by Broadway workers against poor working conditions in the theater industry, which also culminated at Columbus Circle. No arrests were reported.

The nine-month barricading of Columbus Circle began last June during the George Floyd protests, amid fears by authorities that demonstrators would topple the Christopher Columbus Statue.

After complaints by neighbors, the barricades were removed last month. Not long after, police discovered anti-Columbus graffiti on the statue, leading to condemnations from Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

Patch reporter Gus Saltonstall contributed.