Police have arrested a man accused of traveling to New York City with plans to harm federal agents during Saturday’s “No Kings” protest.
David Cox, 54, of Newark Valley, New York, is charged with making terroristic threats, false report of terrorism and making a threat of mass harm.
Authorities say Cox told a gas station employee in Oswego on Friday night that he was planning to travel to the city to firebomb ICE agents at the protest.
Members of the NYPD were then alerted of the potential threat, and officers managed to track down Cox’s vehicle in Borough Park, Brooklyn and take him into custody on Saturday afternoon.
More than 100,000 protesters took to the streets of New York City to have their voices be heard, at one point flooding Times Square.
There were similar scenes across the country as large crowds gathered for the “No Kings” protests against President Donald Trump, his administration and their policies. Sources say there were more than 2,600 “No Kings” events held across the U.S., with demonstrators saying President Trump is acting like a monarch and not an elected official.
Saturday’s protest marks the the third mass mobilization since the president’s reelection.
Demonstrators raised their voices with chants and held bright signs, some even in costumes. The demonstrations come amid a government shutdown that continues to stretch on, leaving federal workers without pay.
The demonstrations are also on the heels of ICE ramping up arrests in its crackdown of illegal immigration and crackdown on crime with the deployment of the National Guard.
Eyewitness News spoke with several folks who showed up, saying the federal government is being dismantled and that it’s tough to watch in real time the effects of orders coming from the White House.
“It’s heartbreaking, heart-wrenching and just despicable when they take their mother away from their children. The children are screaming, that’s too much,” said Gia Galeano, one of the protesters.
Sharon Boone, another protester, echoed similar sentiments.
“If you’re the president, you are supposed to be the president for the country. This is not what’s happening. This division, the petty grievances,” Boone said.
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