Jewish Protesters Arrested Outside UES Republican Club: NYPD

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — Fourteen Jewish protesters were arrested Tuesday afternoon for blocking the entrance to the Manhattan Republican Club on the Upper East Side, an NYPD spokesman said. The seven men and seven women who were arrested will face "civil disobedience" violations such as disorderly conduct, and are being processed at the 19th NYPD precinct, the spokesman said.

The group arrived at the East 83rd Street club shortly after 1 p.m. and asked for entrance to the building. Wen they were denied, they set up outside the club to mourn the 11 victims of a Saturday mass shooting at a synagogue in Pittsburgh. The victims included two brothers, a husband and wife and a 97-year-old woman who were attending services at the Tree of Life synagogue.

Writer David Klion was involved in the Tuesday protest at the Republican club.

"#WeAreHere as Jews to block the entrance to the NY Metropolitan Republican Club that hosted a white supremacist in the weeks before our community was attacked in Pittsburgh. We are here to sit shiva, to hold Republicans accountable, and to #EndWhiteNationalism," Klion tweeted at the outset of the protest.

Protesters unfurled a sign reading, "GOP: Tell white nationalists they don't have a place in your party," in front of the doors of the club. Thirteen religious garments bearing the names of the Pittsburgh shooting victims were placed on the sign, as well as a 14th that represented all those harmed by white nationalism,

Police began arresting protesters shortly before 3 p.m., according to Daily Beast reporter Kelly Weill. The protesters who were directly blocking the club's entrance were placed in zip tie cuffs and led into NYPD vans, Weill reported. The protest drew a large police response to East 83rd Street.

The streets near the Manhattan Republican Club became the site of a massive street brawl on the night of Friday, Oct. 12 after Gavin McInnes — leader of far-right group the Proud Boys — was invited to speak at the club. McInnes reenacted the assassination of Japanese socialist leader Inejiro Asanuma during his appearance at the club.

Six Proud Boys members have been arrested since the fight after the NYPD's timid response to the brawl was criticized by city and state officials.

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