Update: I have to correct something. Curtis isn’t getting arrested until Sunday that will be his 80th. He managed to not get arrested the other night but he promises to get arrested on Sunday.
Guardian Angels founder and former mayoral candidate Curtis Sliwa and Staten Island artist Scott LoBaido were among several civilians arrested on Sunday during an event protesting a new shelter for asylum seekers in Midland Beach.
It seems the hundreds in attendance blocked the road to an assisted living facility.
A crowd of several hundred gathered during the protest event hosted by Sliwa, LoBaido, and John Tabacco, who was a candidate for New York City comptroller.
They had speakers, and some carried handmade signs and chanted, “Close the borders,” “Stop the invasion,” and “USA! USA!”
It’s amazing how few people in New York care about their rights. Thousands should have protested.
A strong police presence was in the area monitoring the scene and providing crowd control on the street to ensure the flow of traffic.
Mr. Sliwa and the protestors, called for Mayor Eric Adams to open up Gracie Mansion to asylum-seekers, rather than place them in shelters across the five boroughs. Gracie Mansion is the official residence of the city’s mayor.
Adams is going to put them in the Floyd Bennett field. They’re everywhere.
After applauding the efforts of the NYPD at the event, Sliwa, LoBaido, and many other civilians gathered to block off the road in front of the facility.
“Today, this is not Republican versus Democrat versus independents,” said Sliwa. “We’re joined together at the hip in solidarity. It’s us and we, not I and me. It’s Americans versus those who would destroy the America that we know.”
The New York Police Department warned protesters to leave the roadway and use the available sidewalks, and if they refused, they would be placed under arrest and charged with disorderly conduct.
LoBaido and Sliwa were arrested. It’s Sliwa’s 79th arrest. It calls media attention to their issue.
Tonight, they will march down Gill Hodges bridge, and that will likely be Sliwa’s 80th arrest.
Congresswoman Nicole Malliotakis, who was not in attendance at Sunday’s protest, called for the charges against those arrested to be dropped.
“In the summer of 2020, police were told to lay off BLM protestors rioting in our streets,” the congresswoman said in a statement. “But now citizens peacefully protesting the city’s secret deal that led to the eviction of senior citizens at an assisted living facility to house migrants who illegally entered our country at taxpayer expense are being arrested at the direction of our mayor. This is outrageous, and I call on our district attorney to drop any and all charges against Curtis Sliwa, Scott Lobaido, and the other concerned citizens who were wrongfully arrested.”
As a matter of fact, Antifa and BLM still frequently block off roads and bridges. It wasn’t just during the Floyd riots. And they don’t usually get arrested.
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