A raucous mob of protesters made the wrong moves in Manhattan on Tuesday — twice.
First, the rabble stormed a Hilton Garden Inn, on the incorrect information that Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents were staying there, according to the New York Post.
Second, they refused to leave after repeated orders and warnings to disperse — and the arrests began.
More than 60 anti-ICE demonstrators ended up in cuffs and were charged with trespassing, according to news reports.
GREAT NEWS: 65 anti-ICE agitators were just ARRESTED in NYC for occupying a Hilton hotel lobby where ICE agents were reportedly staying
LOCK THEM UP!pic.twitter.com/zG9Ybm8qM9
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) January 28, 2026
The scene started about 6:00 p.m. as demonstrators flooded the hotel lobby, blowing whistles and chanting anti-ICE slogans.
It broke up around 8:00 p.m., with the arrests of protesters inside the building and the dispersal of those outside.
The protesters being taken into custody claimed Hilton is “profiting off our neighbors being murdered and tortured” and that “Hilton is housing the modern-day Gestapo.”
Aside from the exaggerated rhetoric, the protest had apparently picked the wrong target — at least at the wrong time.
“Sources confirmed that no federal agents were staying at the hotel Tuesday night,” the New York Post reported.
The report did not say whether ICE or Department of Homeland Security personnel had ever been lodged at the location, but they were apparently not present for the noisy demonstration on Tuesday.
The arrests drew different responses on social media, with some praising the appearance of law and order, while others questioned the follow-through since notoriously liberal District Attorney Alvin Bragg is in charge of prosecutions in Manhattan.
“This is how it should have been right from the start,” one user wrote on the social media platform X in response to the arrests.
“They will more than likely be right back out, especially with Alvin Bragg as district attorney,” another noted.
Meanwhile, New York City’s Mayor Zohran Mamdani, himself an anti-ICE zealot, tried to take both sides in the confrontation, issuing a statement praising both the mob and the police.
“Mayor Mamdani commends the protestors who exercised their right to protest against ICE today,” a representative said in a statement, according to WPIX in New York.
“As he has said, ICE is a rogue agency that has repeatedly carried out cruel, inhumane, and lawless raids and arrests of American citizens,” the statement added.
“The Mayor is also pleased with the NYPD’s response to the protest and that today’s demonstration concluded without violence.”
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