For some, Thanksgiving morning included watching the giant Spongebob Squarepants and Pikachu balloons hover down Sixth Avenue during Macys’ annual Thanksgiving Day Parade. For others, the day included being carried away in handcuffs for trying to block the spectacle. In an act of retaliation against the grand jury’s decision not to indict Darren Wilson for the shooting death of Mike Brown, activists mobilized along the parade route. They chanted and carried signs combatting racist police protocols. Things became chaotic when objects were allegedly hurled off rooftops towards NYPD officers. According to the New York Post, at least seven people were arrested. This planned protest—fueled and tracked by the Twitter hashtag #StopTheParade—was an extension of the nationwide protests this week that erupted after the decision was made public. In New York alone, protesters successfully shut down major roadways like the FDR Drive, West Side Highway and Brooklyn Bridge. SEE ALSO: Blood On The Leaves | Using Music To Cope With Mike Brown’s Murder One bystander caught footage of the forceful arrests.
Happy Thanksgiving from #stoptheparade courtesy of the NYPD.
A video posted by Tommie Sunshine (@tommiesunshine) on
More well wishes from #NYPD at #stoptheparade.
A video posted by Tommie Sunshine (@tommiesunshine) on
Photo Credit: Getty Images