Protesters Throw Smoke Bomb At UWS Museum Protest, No Arrests Made: PD

UPPER WEST SIDE, NY - Pro-Palestinian protesters were barred from entering the American Museum of Natural History for the second time in two weeks on Saturday, instead rallying outside the museum where a smoke bomb was reportedly thrown, according to a report.

Organized by Within Our Lifetime, the group that co-organized the protest that disrupted the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade last month, the protest saw about 200 demonstrators seeking to enter the museum for an “anti-colonial self guided tour of the museum,” according to an Instagram post. Read more: 34 Arrested, Issued Summonses After Disrupting NYC Thanksgiving Parade

“AMNH is a bastion of colonial history and indigenous genocide, as they hold over 12,000 human remains,” Within Our Lifetime wrote. “This rally is also a response to the call to reclaim the streets on the December 2nd, for a global mass demonstration for Palestine, and demand more than just the bare minimum of a #ceasefirenow for Gaza.”

Protesters were met by police barricades and were barred from entering the museum, the New York Post reported, adding that protesters chanted “shame” and “they’ve shut us out again” before throwing a smoke bomb releasing red, green and black colors of the Palestinian flag.

No arrests were made in connection with the protest, an NYPD spokesperson told Patch, though one assault was reported. The details of the complaint were not immediately made available.

Last week’s Columbus Circle-area protest, which saw protesters reportedly burning an Israeli flag and prompting store owners to shut their doors, also resulted in protesters being barred from entering the museum, the outlet reported.

Protesters at the Saturday demonstration later dispersed, with some protesting at the Starbucks on 63rd Street where they were kicked out, per The New York Post. Others demonstrated at the Shops at Columbus Circle, per videos posted to X. A group of protesters were pepper sprayed while attempting to enter a McDonald’s in Times Square, the New York Post added.

No arrests were made in connection with the reported pepper-spraying incident, police said.