Protesters Block Fifth Avenue at Trump Tower in Presidents Day Flashmob
Hundreds of New Yorkers marked Presidents Day by gathering outside Trump Tower on Monday, raising their middle fingers and chanting profanities against former President Donald Trump in a coordinated flashmob that disrupted traffic on Fifth Avenue.
Chaos and Arrests on Fifth Avenue
According to videos and local media reports, demonstrators filled the iconic avenue just after 1 p.m. on Monday, apparently blocking vehicle traffic while banging drums, playing music, and shouting "f*** Trump!" The protest created significant disruption in one of Manhattan's busiest commercial districts.
A spokesperson for the NYPD confirmed to The Independent that "multiple people" had been arrested during the demonstration, though authorities could not immediately specify how many individuals were detained or what charges they might face. The police presence was substantial as officers worked to manage the crowd and maintain order.
Organized Resistance and Nationwide Protests
The protest was organized by Rise and Resist, a direct action group, and 50501, the loose anti-Trump network behind last year's No Kings demonstrations, according to an Instagram post by Rise and Resist. This marked exactly one year since crowds of demonstrators gathered against the Trump administration on Presidents Day 2025—an early sign of the massive public dissent that would follow later that year.
It was one of numerous small protests and rallies organized around the country for Presidents Day, ranging from California's Coachella Valley to New England and upstate New York. The nationwide coordination demonstrated the continued opposition to Trump's policies and rhetoric among certain segments of the American public.
Visual Protest and Political Messaging
Photos from the event showed marchers carrying signs branding Trump a "TRAITOR" and a "wannabe dictator," along with a huge banner calling for him to be impeached, convicted, and removed from office. Numerous chants and signs focused on Trump's connections to Jeffrey Epstein, his attempts to centralize power under the office of the president, and his mass detention and deportation campaign against immigrants.
On Saturday, just two days before the protest, an investigation by Reuters found more than 4,400 cases in which the Trump administration was ruled by a judge to have detained immigrants illegally. This recent revelation added fuel to the protesters' arguments about immigration policy abuses.
Party Atmosphere Amid Serious Concerns
Despite the serious political messaging, the Big Apple protest had a "party-like atmosphere," according to local newspaper amNewYork. Loudspeakers played music and some protesters danced in the streets, creating a carnivalesque environment even as they delivered pointed political criticism.
"There’s no reason for ICE to be in the streets, for them to be undercover, for them to take citizens unwillingly and put them into camps, essentially, and stealing them from their families," protester Elaine Wong told the paper. "It is my duty as a citizen... to protect my neighbors, my friends, and all my family. They deserve to be here just as much as anybody else."
Nationwide Sentiment and Political Context
The protest occurred against a backdrop of declining popularity for Trump. Polls show that Trump has become deeply unpopular across a wide range of U.S. voters, with four separate polls on Monday registering the lowest approval ratings of his term so far. This sentiment was echoed in protests beyond New York.
"He’s violating every principle that we believe he should be upholding, and that the Constitution requires," one demonstrator in Waterville, Maine, told the Morning Sentinel. Another in Concord, New Hampshire told InDepthNH.org: "We don’t claim Trump as our president. He’s not representing us in any sort of way that anyone would want to be represented."
Trump was not present in Trump Tower on Monday during the protest. The White House and the New York City mayor's office did not respond to requests for comment about the demonstration, leaving official reactions to the disruptive protest unclear as the political divisions in America continue to manifest in public spaces.
