ICYMI: 25 Protesters Arrested After Occupying Trump Tower Atrium

MIDTOWN MANHATTAN, NY — Protestors were arrested Thursday afternoon after taking over the atrium of Trump Tower in Midtown Manhattan Thursday, unfurling banners reading "No Ban," "No Wall," and "No Raids" and staging a sit-in on the atrium floor.

Twenty-five protesters were arrested and charges against them are pending, an NYPD spokesman told Patch.

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Police arrived at Trump Tower to clear the atrium in an effort to arrest the protesters inside, according to reports from the scene. Dozens of officers were seen at all exits of Trump Tower, many holding zipties used during arrests. Police began removing protesters from Trump Tower around 2:15 p.m., according to Mic reporter Jack Smith.

The protest was orchestrated and executed by dozens of members of Rise and Resist, an activist group dedicated to "opposing, disrupting, and defeating any government act that threatens democracy, equality, and our civil liberties," a group spokesperson told Patch.

The group was protesting President Donald Trump's anti-immigrant policies such as the escalation of raids and detentions of undocumented immigrants, plans to build a wall on the border of Mexico and

"My grandparents, who fled Eastern Europe looking for both religious freedom and economic opportunity, taught me to respect all people regardless of their race, nationality, or religion," Jamie Bauer, one of protest’s organizers, said in a statement. "I’m honoring today them by saying loud and clear that all immigrants are welcome in the United States."

Photo courtesy of Rise and Resist