Pro-Palestinian protesters on Wednesday defaced numerous locations affiliated with the Brooklyn Museum and the United Nations in New York City, splattering red paint on their entrances to protest the Israel-Hamas conflict in Gaza, according to The Associated Press.
About 15 protesters threw paint and papers from a U-Haul and then fled around 6 a.m. Wednesday on East 65th Street between Lexington and Park avenues, according to CBS News. Mayor Eric Adams stated on the social platform X on Wednesday that police are looking into incidents involving the residences of museum director Anne Pasternak and members of the museum’s board of trustees.
Adams posted four images showing a brick building stained with red paint with a banner on the door stating: “Anne Pasternak Brooklyn Museum White Supremacist Zionist.”
“This is not peaceful protest or free speech. This is a crime, and it’s overt, unacceptable antisemitism,” Adams wrote, sending sympathy to Pasternak and museum board members. “These actions will never be tolerated in New York City for any reason,” Adams said.
Taylor Maatman, a museum representative, refused to disclose more information but mentioned that a report had been filed with the police.
“We are deeply troubled by these horrible acts of vandalism targeting museum leadership,” she said in an emailed statement, according to the AP.
Red paint was also splashed on the facades of buildings linked to the German consulate and the Permanent Observer Mission of the State of Palestine to the United Nations, as well as scattered flyers criticizing the Palestinian Authority and its president, Mahmoud Abbas.
Hundreds of demonstrators rallied at the Brooklyn Museum in May, erecting tents in the lobby and displaying a “Free Palestine” banner from the roof before police intervened and arrested numerous individuals.
A spokesperson for the New York Police Department said the agency is investigating and will provide more information later.
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