Curtis Sliwa among at least five arrested during Gracie Mansion protest over NYC migrant crisis
At least five people — including former mayoral candidate Curtis Sliwa — were busted during a raucous clash outside Gracie Mansion over migrant housing in the Big Apple, authorities and sou📖rces said Monday.
The 69-year-old Guardian Angels founder was charged with obstructing governmental administration and disorderly conduct, and released on a desk appearance ticket following the Sunday afternoon rally outside the mayoral residence on the Upper East Side, p♈olice sources said.
It was the third time in less than two weeks that Sliwa has been handcuffed w🎶hile protesting migrant sites across the city.
“These migr▨ants have jumped the queue,” he told the crowd, made up of abꩵout 100 demonstrators bashing City Hall’s handling of the migrant crisis, on Sunday.
“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 gonna keep coming,” Sliwa said.
The “We are the People, Freedom Rally” be𒁏gan around 2 p𝔉.m. and spanned about two and a half hours, drawing about 50 counter-protesters, who yelled “F–k white supremacist NYPD!” as about 50 cops looked on.
In addition to Sliwa, two elderly people were sla🎀pped with the same charges and also received desk appearance tickets: Luis Menchaca, 80, and Collette Rottenstreich, 81, the sources said.
Jennifer Hansen, 31, was charged with resisting arrest, assault and disorderly conduct, according to the sources. She also received a des♐k appearance ticket.
The four are scheduled to appear in Manhattan Criminal Court oꩲn Sept. 11 to answer the charges, according to the district attorney’s office.
A fifth person, Andrew Hallinan, 32, faces charges of assault on a police officer, firefighter or EMT, resisting arrest, obstructing governm✃ental administration and assault, the souಌrces said.
His arraignment wa⛎s pending Monday afternoon.
Both Hansen and Hallina♍n are known as “professional protesters,” the sources said.
A sixth person was also taken into custody but not charged, according to the sources.&ꦐnbsp;
One police officer suffered a minor hand injury wh๊ile arresting someone, the sources said.
No other injuries were reported.
Some of demonstrators screamed and threw punches at each other at the rally as most bashed officials for how the city has handled the influx of asylum seekers from 🐽the US-Mexico border.
“No migrants on Long Island!” a Donald Trump supporter shouted during the p🐠rotest. “We pay a lot of property ꦅtaxes!”
Another yelled, “Americans over migrants!”
Members of the anti-asylum seeker crowd held signs warning of “unvetted migrants” and cautioned that “our safety is in serious jeopardy.”
The assembled counter-protestersജ returned the verbal♉ volley.
During the fracas, Sliwa compared himself to t𒈔he pacifist leader of India’s independence movement, Mahatma Gandhi — mocking Mayor Eric Adams, who earlier this month said he himself is “Gandhi-like,” thinking and acting like the historical figure.
“The mayor said he’s Mayor Gandhi, right? He💜’s never done anything Gandhi-like,” Sliwa said.
“I’m going to show him w🐎hat Gandhi used to do,” he said of his plan to get cuffed for “peaceful protest.”
Last week, Sliwa was arrested while protesting outside the shuttered Island Shores Senior Residences in Midland Beach on Staten Island, where a migrant shelter was set ౠup.
On Aug. 🐭16, he was taken into custody outside the Creedmoor Psychiatric Center in Queens.
“I’ve been arrest🔯ed so many times,” he quipped Sunday. “Civil disܫobedience — this will be my 80th.”
Sliwa was set to appear at another protest Monday evening outside a Staten Island Catholic school-tur💙ned-migrant shelജter, his rep said.
The tense standoff S𝔍un𝓀day came as about 100,000 migrants from the US southern border have flooded the five boroughs, forcing Adams to come up with at least 200 emergency shelters to house them.
The facilities, including a massive, 3,000-bed tent city o♑n Randall’s Island, have irked locals who said they fear that the influx ⭕of migrants could be a powder keg.
Additional reporting by Kyle Schnitzer
