For the second year, Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade turned into a protest site as anti-Israel protesters Thursday entered the parade route at W,55th Street and Sixth Avenue, stopping the Ronald McDonald balloon in its tracks. Mass arrests were made as the cops stood alert.
“Don’t celebrate genocide!” the placards that the protesters waved sitting in the parade’s path read.
NYPD officers quickly descended upon the group, who shouted “Free, free Palestine!” as they were tackled to the ground and placed in handcuffs, New York Post reported.
Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade was warned to be a target of a terrorist attack — in a joint threat assessment from the NYPD and FBI as the parade attracts 2 million in-person spectators from around the United States.
“The men and women of the NYPD are looking forward to hosting the millions of spectators who will attend this week’s Thanksgiving-related festivities,” Deputy Commissioner Tarik Sheppard told Fox News earlier. “And while there are currently no credible or specific threats to any individual event or to New York City in general, the police department will continue partnering with our state and federal colleagues to ensure a safe and enjoyable holiday season for all the people we serve.”
“Though the 2024 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade event will provide a broad set of potential soft targets for an attack, congested areas where the largest amount of people gather – particularly designated viewing areas – are likely the most vulnerable spots for a mass casualty attack,” ABC News reported.
An NYPD document reviewed by Fox News Digital shows that police were preparing for a range of potential threats, including home-grown domestic terrorists to foreign extremists – and also non-terror criminals. Investigators noted the Wisconsin Christmas parade attack in Waukesha, in which career criminal Darrell Brooks Jr. plowed through lightweight barricades and then mowed down dozens of people, killing six and injuring more than 60 more.
