NYC Anti-Migrant Rally Erupts in Violence Near Gracie Mansion

In an unprecedented crisis gripping the city, protesters representing opposing stances on the migrant issue clashed outside Gracie Mansion on Sunday. Law enforcement struggled to maintain order as tensions escalated, underscoring the depth of division within the heart of the Big Apple.

Amid the gathering of over 100 demonstrators at the Upper East Side rally, chaos erupted as some participants unleashed screams and punches upon one another. The rally, marked by vibrant clashes, featured a majority criticizing City Hall’s response to the crisis while opposing voices shouted them down in a display of discord, the New York Post reported.

“No migrants on Long Island!” shouted a supporter of former President Donald Trump outside the Manhattan residence of Mayor Eric Adams. “We pay a lot of property taxes!”

Another voice rang out, “Americans over migrants!”

Individuals from the anti-migrant faction brandished signs adorned with warnings of “unvetted migrants,” sounding alarms about the perceived threat to safety. In response, close to 20 counterprotesters hurled back verbal retorts, shouting “F*** white supremacist NYPD!” within the gaze of approximately 50 law enforcement officers.

This charged confrontation unfolded after 100,000 migrants, hailing from the southern border of the United States, surged into the city’s five boroughs. The influx propelled Adams to strategize establishing a minimum of 200 emergency shelters to provide accommodation for the wave of arrivals.

Provoking local unease, the array of facilities encompassing a sprawling 3,000-bed tent enclave on Randall’s Island has stirred concerns among residents. These apprehensions center on the potential volatility of the migrant influx, seen by some as a source of heightened tensions.

Curtis Sliwa, the founder of the Guardian Angels organization and a former contender for the mayoral seat, was counted among the ranks of New Yorkers who converged outside Gracie Mansion on Sunday. Sliwa found himself among the minority and was apprehended by law enforcement.

Sliwa likened himself to the nonviolent icon of India’s liberation struggle, Mahatma Gandhi. This comparison carried a mocking undertone directed at Adams, who had recently asserted his likeness to Gandhi in thought and conduct.

“The mayor said he’s Mayor Gandhi, right? He’s never done anything Gandhi-like,” said Sliwa, I’m going to show him what Gandhi used to do,” get arrested for a “peaceful protest.”

“These migrants have jumped the queue,” Sliwa told the crowd. “And by the way, if I were a migrant and you gave me an opportunity to jump the queue and stay in a hotel, give me three square meals … — basically, give me more than homeless people born in America have, or veterans who are down on their luck have — you’re damn right they’re going to keep coming.”

Experiencing his third arrest in under a fortnight, Sliwa encountered handcuffs once again while participating in a protest at a migrant site. In a recent incident, he was taken into custody while demonstrating outside the dormant Island Shores Senior Residences in Midland Beach, Staten Island. The location had been repurposed as a migrant shelter.

On Aug. 16, Sliwa underwent a similar detention outside the Creedmoor Psychiatric Center in Queens. Reflecting on his extensive history of arrests, he remarked on Sunday, “Civil disobedience — this will be my 80th.”

The primary composition of the assemblage consisted of people who aligned with Trump’s ideals. This assertive contingent confronted an equally vocal cluster of counterprotesters. Sliwa stood among a third, more diminutive group during the confrontation.