21 Pro-Palestinian Demonstrators Arrested at Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade

The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade was disrupted on Thursday by a group of by pro-Palestinian demonstrators.

New York City police said they arrested 21 people who briefly halted the annual event in Manhattan.

According to multiple news outlets, the protesters jumped the barricades located at Fifth Avenue and West 55th Street around 9:30 a.m. local time, blocking a Ronald McDonald balloon. The group, carrying Palestinian flags and banners, sat down on the parade route and started chanting, “Free, free Palestine!” One of the banners read, “Don’t celebrate genocide! Arms embargo now.”

In videos posted online, spectators in the crowd can be heard expressing their displeasure at the interruption, with some chanting, “USA! USA! USA!” Others reportedly booed the protestors and then cheered when the police took them away.

The parade was ultimately delayed by about five minutes. According to WABC, charges against the protesters are pending.

This marks the second year in a row that people protesting Israel‘s war in Gaza have disrupted the parade. Last year, a total of 34 pro-Palestinian protesters were taken into custody. 

Both times, the protesters have blocked the Ronald McDonald balloon. Some outlets have speculated that McDonald’s may have been the target on both occasions due to its perceived support of Israel in the war. This perception has led to a boycott of the fast-food chain, and the company earlier this year bought back all of its Israeli restaurants after sales suffered.