The New York City Police Department has issued a warning ahead of planned pro-Palestinian protests during the annual Rockefeller Center tree lighting on Wednesday night, according to a report.
The NYPD Intelligence and Counterterrorism Bureau issued the threat assessment advisory to law enforcement and government agencies and noted that protesters could use the tree lighting “as an opportunity to draw attention to their own causes,” according to the memo obtained by ABC News.
“While many of these actions would likely constitute First Amendment protected activity, they could prove disruptive to the event and potentially pose a security risk,” the assessment states.
While there aren’t any specific or credible threats in relation to the tree lighting, it notes that the United States “continues to face a heightened and dynamic risk environment from a variety of extremists.”
PRO-PALESTINIAN PROTESTERS DISRUPT MACY’S THANKSGIVING DAY PARADE IN NEW YORK CITY
The Rockefeller Center Christmas tree is lifted onto its podium on November 11, 2023, in New York City. (Gary Hershorn/Getty Images)
“Malicious actors may view mass gatherings, iconic locations and high-profile events as targets of opportunity during the holiday season,” the assessment states.
The warning from police comes as several pro-Palestinian organizations planned a protest during the tree lighting.
“FLOOD the Tree Lighting for GAZA!,” one Instagram post promoting the protest states. “PRIESTS OF PALESTINE CALL FOR MOBILIZATION, NOT CELEBRATION!”
“Palestine is the birthplace of Christianity, Jesus was a Palestinian, how can celebrations go on as normal when his birthplace is being attacked in the last few weeks alone 20,000 Palestinians including 8,000 children have been killed?,” it states. “Bring flags, signs, and keffiyehs.”
The threat assessment also states that police are monitoring propaganda from terrorist organizations.
PRO-PALESTINIAN RALLIES IN NYC AND DC INTERRUPT CROWDED HUBS DURING RUSH-HOUR COMMUTE
NEW YORK, US – NOVEMBER 24: Thousands of Pro-Palestinian demonstrators hold banners as they take over New York City Streets after gathering at Washington Square Park on Black Friday in New York, United States on November 24, 2023. n. (Selcuk Acar/Anadolu via Getty Images)
“The ICB continues to observe numerous propaganda graphics from FTOs [foreign terrorist organizations] and their supporters calling for violence against US interests, ostensibly in retribution for US support of Israel,” it states. “For example, on November 24, al-Qa’ida’s as-Sahab Media Foundation released a publication in which it incited attacks against military targets in both the Middle East and the West, as well as broadly against those who ‘support the Jews in their war on Gaza.'”
According to the threat assessment, pro-ISIS online users in December 2022 redistributed propaganda urging followers to conduct attacks at Christmas and New Year’s celebrations.
A pro-Palestinian protester gets arrested by the police during the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade on Thursday, Nov. 23, 2023, in New York. (AP Photo/Andres Kudacki)
During the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City, protesters disrupted the event, with some entering the parade route holding a banner reading “Liberation for Palestine and Planet.”
NEW YORK, UNITED STATES – NOVEMBER 23: New York Police Department (NYPD) members intervene and take two pro-Palestinian protesters into custody, who entered the parade, during the traditional Thanksgiving Day parade in New York, United States on November 23, 2023. (Photo by Fatih Aktas/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Other individuals doused their white jumpsuits with red liquid and glued their hands to the street in an attempt to disrupt the parade.
Fox News Digital reached out to the NYPD for comment.
