Pro-Palestinian protesters took over parts of the Brooklyn Museum on Friday, hanging a banner above the main entrance, occupying much of the lobby and scuffling with police, witnesses said.
The art museum in the New York City borough of Brooklyn said it closed an hour early because of the disruption, including skirmishes between police and protesters that took place inside and outside the building.
Some arrests were made but a New York Police Department spokesperson said there would be no official count until after the protest concluded. A demonstration continued outside the museum hours after the initial confrontation, but the spokesperson could not say whether any protesters remained inside.
One of the arrests was of a man who defaced an outdoor sculpture with graffiti, a Reuters witness said. Several protesters scrawled messages on the OY/YO sculpture on the plaza outside the entrance.
"There was damage to existing and newly installed artwork on our plaza," a museum spokesperson said in an email. "Protesters entered the building, and our public safety staff were physically and verbally harassed.
"Out of a concern for the building, our collections, and our staff, the decision was made to close the building an hour early," and the public was asked to vacate peacefully, the statement said.
Hundreds of demonstrators were marching through Brooklyn when some of them rushed the entrance, according to the Reuters witness. Security guards prevented many from entering but some managed to get inside.
A banner was hung from atop the neoclassical facade proclaiming, "Free Palestine, Divest From Genocide."
A pro-Palestinian organization named Within Our Lifetime urged demonstrators to "flood Brooklyn Museum for Gaza." It said activists occupied the museum to compel it to disclose any Israel-related investments and to divest any such funding.
Demonstrations against Israel's prosecution of the war in Gaza have continued in the United States, largely on university campuses.
At Columbia University in upper Manhattan, demonstrators on Friday set up an encampment on campus during an alumni reunion to show support for Palestinians. Video on social media showed campus security taking down the tents. As of Friday night, police were not involved, as they had been in taking down the camp and evicting or arresting protests twice before.
"We are aware of the encampment erected this evening and are monitoring the situation. We remain committed to hosting a successful weekend for our alumni," Columbia spokesperson Samantha Slater said in a statement.
The Israeli-Palestinian war began when Hamas militants attacked Israel on Oct. 7, killing 1,200 people.
Palestinian health authorities estimate more than 36,280 people have been killed in Gaza since Israel responded.
The United States is unlikely to help South Korea build nuclear-powered submarines at the moment, as it is stretched by AUKUS commitments to Australia, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said at the Shangri-La security dialogue in Singapore.
In 2021 the United States signed the AUKUS pact with Britain and Australia to share nuclear-powered submarine technology and to sell at least three Virginia-class boats to Australia in the 2030s.
Several other allies, including South Korea, have expressed interest in involvement.
Asked on Saturday at the security summit how he would respond to a direct South Korean request for help obtaining nuclear submarines, Austin said it would be "very, very difficult" for Washington to accommodate that "on top of what we do right now".
"(AUKUS) is no small endeavour," he said. "We just started down this path with Australia. (It's) highly doubtful that we could take on another initiative of this type anytime in the near future."
The two-stage security pact aims to counteract China's growing power in the Asia-Pacific region. It will be the first time Washington has shared nuclear-propulsion technology since it did so with Britain in the 1950s.
It includes a second technology-sharing "pillar", besides the submarines, which has drawn interest from New Zealand and Japan.
"We believe that AUKUS is actually a good addition to regional security," New Zealand Defence Minister Judith Collins said on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue on Friday, adding that New Zealand had enquired about the second pillar
"We've had no actual invitation to join it but it is something that we are certainly looking at," she said.
Australian Defence Minister Richard Marles said that he could imagine other countries' involvement in the future but that the focus for now was on the U.S.-UK-Australia trio getting "runs on the board" of submarine projects, which are set to last decades.
South Korean defence minister Shin Won-sik said on Saturday that more evidence suggests weapons used by Russia in the war in Ukraine were illegally imported from North Korea.
"Military cooperation between Russia and North Korea" is escalating tensions on the Korean Peninsula and "also affecting the battlefield in Europe", Shin said.
If North Korea continues to receive military technology transfers from Russia in return, a significant improvement in North Korea's conventional military capability is an imminent risk, Shin said.
The United States said in February that North Korea had delivered more than 10,000 containers of munitions and related material since September to Russia.
Both Moscow and Pyongyang have denied accusations that North Korea transferred weapons to Russia for use against Ukraine, which Russia invaded in February 2022.
Shin also called for China to take a more active role on denuclearisation on the Korean peninsula.
On questions about whether South Korea may seek nuclear weapons of its own, Shin said that South Korea trusts the global nonproliferation treaty (NPT) regime, and that a stronger U.S.-South Korean alliance is the answer to North Korea's nuclear development.
Shin was speaking during the Shangri-La Dialogue, Asia's biggest defence forum, under way in Singapore. The event ends on June 2.
Residents of the Clinton Hill neighborhood in Brooklyn are outraged over a harm-reduction group that gives out drug paraphernalia on the street — leading to what they say is a weekly invasion of a dozen or so heroin and crack users, some of whom use in plain sight.
The group — funded with millions of dollars from the city and cash from George Soros’s foundation — hands out free needles, crack pipes and even devices to “cook” heroin, every Wednesday at the top of the entrance to the Clinton–Washington Avenue subway station on the C line.
“They’re shooting up,” Stephanie Cole, who lives next to the subway, told The Post.
Hector Barbarosa and Nate Taylor make sure that their clients obtain what they need. But some residents who live on the block are not happy to see them.J.C. Rice
She said she sees people use the free pipes handed out by Vocal-NY organizers to “smoke crack or whatever. I’ve walked over broken crack pipes on our stoop and all kinds of garbage that gets left there. Two weeks ago, I was sweeping up broken glass from the pipes.”
Cole, 44, who works in social media and marketing, and others who live on Washington Avenue near Fulton Street say they are fed up with the open-air drug scene created by the actions of Vocal-NY.
Nate Taylor and Hector Barbosa promote harm-reduction by providing drug users with fresh drug paraphernalia.J.C. Rice
“They pull a lot of people into the neighborhood who use drugs,” Cole said. “There’s a cumulative effect where the needle exchange makes this into a hangout.”
Nate Taylor, a peer educator with Vocal-NY, was at the May 22 paraphernalia handout in Clinton Hill and claimed that the group — which, according to its website, runs syringe-exchange programs in Downtown Brooklyn, East New York, Crown Heights, Coney Island and Brighton Beach — ran into trouble with a needle giveaway in Sunset Park when someone fired a gun there and cops warned them off.
“[Someone] shot off a couple shots and … we couldn’t work there no more,” Taylor alleged to The Post. Now, though, “we can go back there and have a ball. I go every Monday.”
At the Clinton Hill handout, an East New York woman who gave her name only as Nikita said she regularly drops by on Wednesdays to pick up new crack pipes — which she called “indulgence stems.”
Needles and glass pipes are given out by representatives of Vocal-NY at the Clinton-Washington subway entrance weekly.J.C. Rice
Asked if she planned to use the pipe right away, after receiving the pipe Nikita told The Post: “It’s early in the morning. So I’ll go further down the block.”
Miguel from the Bronx showed up to retrieve a clean needle on the street but said he didn’t want to use at home in front of his family. Instead, he said, he had plans to use at a nearby pizza joint.
“I do it in the bathroom … in the pizzeria,” Miguel told The Post.. “They don’t know what we do there.”
At Barcklay’s Pizza and Pasta on Fulton Street, diagonally across from where the needles are handed out, a counter worker said of the addicts: “We don’t like them. They buy one piece of pizza and sit for two or three hours … But no bathroom. I tell them it is out of service.”
Hector Barbarosa (right) works with Vocal-NY, which has received millions of dollars from the City Council.J.C. Rice
Others, Nikita said, slip into the Clinton-Washington subway station to use. “We got to worry about the police pulling up on us,” Nikita said. “All the people down there, complaining.”
The Post has reached out to the NYPD for this story.
Another resident of the block, who did not want her name used for privacy reasons, told The Post that she has seen needles and syringes littering the ground near her home.
Alyssa Aguilera, co-executive director of Vocal-NY, told The Post that, “In addition to passing out supplies, our outreach team also does its best to clean up outreach sites.”
Nate Taylor makes sure that all of his paraphernalia-requesting clients are properly registered.J.C. Rice
Neighbors told The Post they are especially frustrated because the area is family-oriented.
“There are so many kids in and out of the area,” Cole said. “There are two schools, one-and-a-half blocks in either direction.”
Adding that she has sympathy for the addicts, Cole added, “I have a problem with them doing it in a residential neighborhood and near schools. You want clean needles? Great. But don’t shoot up on my stoop.”
Hector Barbarosa with one of the drug kits he distributes.J.C. Rice
“A methadone program is around the corner … a lot of the users are over here and we try to provide them the service,” Vocal-NY’s Taylor said.
As for where clients do drugs once they receive supplies, he added, “They do their dirt … anywhere … once we give [the kit] to them, that’s on them.”
A drug user named Domingo, who “comes for the syringes,” seemed to feel some sympathy for the locals.
“It’s a great neighborhood, but, honestly, the people here, I know they don’t like us around here,” he told The Post. “I understand. I think if I never used drugs, I probably would have felt the same way.”
Some residents of Washington Avenue near the Clinton-Washington subway stop say they are tired of addicts doing drugs in plain sight on their street.J.C. Rice
According to its website, Vocal-NY is a “grassroots membership organization that builds power among low-income people affected by HIV/AIDS, the drug war, mass incarceration, and homelessness in order to create healthy and just communities.”
The 510(c)3 tax-exempt organization received $3.5 million from the City Council to fund its ongoing expenses between 2014 and 2024, and at least $1.6 million in city contracts.
Some of that money was allocated despite Queens Councilman Robert Holden demanding an end to their funding when a convicted sex offender affiliated with Vocal-NY launched an anti-Asian racist rant while testifying to the City Council in 2021.
In 2022, $2.95 million was allocated to help the group buy its headquarters at Douglass Street and Third Avenue in Brooklyn, with the line items sponsored by Antonio Reynoso, now the Brooklyn Borough President.
Reynoso’s office did not return requests for comment.
George Soros’ Open Society Foundations allocated Vocal-NY $800,000 between 2020 and 2022, while the Ford Foundation donated $600,000 between 2018 and 2022.
Not everyone who is kidnapped or goes missing is found alive or recovered safely — but those who do sometimes have their own resourcefulness and quick thinking to thank for their survival.
In the event that you are held against your will or suspect that you are in danger of abduction, whether for ransom or for a kidnapper’s other nefarious purposes, maintain your composure to the best of your ability and remember these tips from law enforcement experts.
He earned his distinctive nickname from one of his alleged victim’s keen recollection.
Tuen Kit Lee, now 55, was wearing a mask when he allegedly broke into the home of a server who worked at his family’s restaurant in Quincy, held her at knifepoint, zip-tied her to her own bed and sexually assaulted her, Fox News Digital previously reported.
His victim was able to identify the suspect by noting his distinctively bad breath, and he was charged with kidnapping and raping the woman in 2005.
He fled sentencing, but will serve out his sentence and face additional charges after his capture this week.
It is crucial to recall small details about your setting and kidnapper, even if you are overpowered or blindfolded.
But ultimately, the best way to stay safe is to remain vigilant to prevent a kidnapping entirely.
1. Maintain situational awareness
Former FBI Special Agent Bill Daly told Fox News Digital that it’s imperative to stay alert, even on routes that you regularly take and places you frequent.
Daly said that you should never let any stranger within 5 feet, or arm’s reach.
Not everyone who is kidnapped or goes missing is found alive or recovered safely — but those who do sometimes have their own resourcefulness and quick thinking to thank for their survival.PixelGallery – stock.adobe.com
“In a downtown area, that’s different,” Daly said.
“If it’s a congested area, odds are you aren’t going to be abducted. If you’re in a secluded area, the potential for abduction is more serious.”
“How would you be unaware of your immediate environment? Simple things like headphones, earpods, being on the phone,” Daly said.
“People tune out walking down the sidewalk. I get it, but if you don’t know the area, you need to unplug.”
In the event that you are held against your will or suspect that you are in danger of abduction, maintain your composure to the best of your ability and remember these tips from law enforcement experts.eliosdnepr – stock.adobe.com
Part of maintaining situational awareness is knowing when it’s best to avoid certain routes or time of day, according to former Secret Service agent and Lake Forest Group founder and CEO Michael Verden.
“We had a tragedy at the University of Georgia where nursing student Laken Riley was murdered [while jogging] alone,” Verden recalled.
“I don’t want to sound like a chauvinist, but if you’re a woman and you’re by yourself, you’re a victim.”
Daly also noted that you shouldn’t get into a car driven by anyone you don’t know — even if it’s a marked taxi.
“People get abducted at airports, they get into a cab and it’s not a cab,” Daly said, specifying that most of these cases take place outside the U.S.
“I do a lot of travel. When I come out of the airport, I’m either calling Uber or Lyft. I don’t care if it looks like a cab, I don’t know if it is one, unless you go to a cab stand.”
It is crucial to recall small details about your setting and kidnapper, even if you are overpowered or blindfolded.2B – stock.adobe.com
2. Cause a commotion — and don’t get taken to a second location
Daly told Fox News Digital that you should do anything in your power to keep a would-be abductor from taking you to a second location — and that the first few moments of an abduction are the most crucial.
“As soon as you know it’s somebody confronting you in the parking lot or trying to carjack you, or if you realize that you’ve gotten into a vehicle, the best thing is to get out of that position rather than think, ‘Maybe I can get out of this at another location,’” Daly said.
“There’s a better chance that you won’t be harmed in a public place than somewhere more secluded.”
The former FBI special agent said that most kidnappings within the U.S. are not for ransom, and instead are for “sexual assault or violence that may result in your demise.”
“You have to scream or yell to draw attention to yourself,” Daly said.
But ultimately, the best way to stay safe is to remain vigilant to prevent a kidnapping entirely.Maya Kruchancova – stock.adobe.com
“If you’re in a secluded area, it’s in your best interests to fight back.”
On the other hand, Verden said that it’s important to know when you’re overpowered.
At that point, continuing to fight can make the situation worse.
“If it’s a woman and the guy is twice her size, she can fight, but there is a point of no return or diminished returns — you can make it worse,” Verden said.
“I do a lot of training pro bono at schools. I can’t tell a third-grader to fight a person with a gun, but I will tell an adult to fight a person with a gun.”
If you are forced into a vehicle, Daly suggested creating a commotion at traffic lights and trying to get the attention of other drivers, if possible.
Although it will take more than one blow, he said, it is possible to break a car window with the metal piece of a seat belt.
Although it’s much harder to escape from the trunk of a car, some models have rear headlights that can be reached from inside the vehicle and can be kicked out, allowing a victim to stick their hand outside and wave for help.
3. If you fall into the clutches of the abductor, keep tabs on your surroundings
Even if you are blindfolded, taking note of where you’re being taken and who has kidnapped you could help you escape, or provide crucial information to police like the Bad Breath Rapist’s victim did.
“If you’re in the trunk of a vehicle, you need to be aware of what happens outside,” Verden told Fox News Digital.
“If the car turns, how many turns did that car make? That’s critical in determining where you’re being taken to.”
“Listen for anything nearby: Is there a train nearby, is there traffic nearby? Any type of sound you can pick up on, make a mental note of it,” Verden said.
Former FBI Special Agent Bill Daly told Fox News Digital that it’s imperative to stay alert, even on routes that you regularly take and places you frequent.LIGHTFIELD STUDIOS – stock.adobe.com
“If you smell anything, a paper mill or a bakery, those are all important. Are you in a rural setting? An urban setting?”
“Why did this person abduct you? Is it for ransom, or is it sexual assault? Knowing that may be helpful, too,” Verden said.
“If it’s for ransom, there’s a light at the end of the tunnel. If a person is abducting you and the only purpose is to harm you, now you need to fight.”
In a situation where you are held against your will in your own home, an awareness of your surroundings may also help you make an escape.
4. Maintain your composure.
Although a kidnapping is undeniably a high-stress situation, staying as calm as possible can increase your chances of escaping unharmed, both experts said.
“If you’re still cognizant, you still have all your faculties,” Verden said.
“If you maintain your composure, as opposed to crying or yelling at the kidnapper, the kidnapper is going to see that. That could help the victim’s relationship with the abductor.”
Preparing yourself for the worst can help you stay composed in the worst-case scenario.
Verden recommends everyone take self-defense classes, set up and practice using emergency services on your cellphone and learning a viral hand gesture to clandestinely show others that you need help.
The “Signal For Help” was created by the Canadian Women’s Foundation, a public organization focused on gender equality, at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic.
The signal is used as a simple and discreet way for people to show that they need help, particularly in domestic abuse situations.
The prompt is made by facing your palm outward and placing your thumb on the palm of your hand while bringing your fingers over the thumb to “trap” it.
5. Utilize your phone, if possible
Earlier this month, a Texas woman stranded along the roadside with a flat tire was kidnapped and sexually assaulted by a suspect who pulled over and offered to assist, Fox News Digital previously reported.
A male suspect lured her into the car under the guise of taking her to get a replacement tire, used the child lock to keep her inside the vehicle and then assaulted her in his apartment complex parking lot nearby, police said.
Before she was able to escape the vehicle, the woman sent her location to a friend.
Police in Austin said that this expedited the process of finding her once she escaped from the vehicle.
In your emergency settings, Verden said, you should set up emergency services, or a speed dial option for 911.
In the event that you are kidnapped and still have your phone on your person, you can call authorities or a loved one and “keep the phone line open so the person on the other end can hear what’s going on,” Verden said.
The majority of kidnapping victims in the U.S. are children. A child is abducted or goes missing in the U.S. every 40 seconds, per FBI data.
Daly recommended that parents download the FBI’s Child ID app, which allows you to store photos and information that you can share with police in the event that your child goes missing and provides specific guidance on what to do in the first crucial hours after the child goes missing.
