Dozens of pro-Palestine protesters arrested near the Met Gala in Manhattan

Police officers intervene during a pro-Palestine demonstration May 6 in New York.

elcuk Acar/Anadolu/Getty Images

Over two dozen pro-Palestinian protesters were arrested on Manhattan’s Upper East Side Monday evening as they marched from a midtown college campus to the Metropolitan Museum of Art to demonstrate before the Met Gala, one of the year’s most high-profile events in the city.

The New York Police Department confirmed this The Hollywood Reporter that the arrests took place at 6:30 p.m. local time at 80th Street and Madison Avenue, just a block away from the star-studded red carpet event that also featured paparazzi.

They waved Palestinian flags and chanted “Gaza! Gaza!” it says The New York TimesAccording to the NYPD, the demonstrators were largely student groups from Baruch College, Columbia University and New York University who had gathered to protest the war in Gaza and then convened at Hunter College.

According to the NYPD, a total of 27 people were arrested and detained in the city’s 19th District on the Upper East Side. Charges against the demonstrators according to a list received THRrange from the more serious charges of second-degree assault, resisting arrest and obstructing governmental administration, to the lesser charge of disorderly conduct – typically a misdemeanor that carries a fine if a plea is made; in New York it is removed from the record after a year. This was the only charge against 21 of those arrested on Monday evening. The police spokesman added that investigations into the planned protest were still ongoing.

Shortly after 4:30 p.m. Monday, police said officers responded to three planned demonstrations at different college campuses; these took place in Greenwich Village, home of New York University; the Gramercy Park area where Baruch College is located; and Morningside Heights, where protests have rocked the Columbia University campus for weeks.

A second protest moved toward the glitzy event from a gathering point near Central Park, according to the Justwhere major stars, including presenters Zendaya, Jennifer Lopez, Bad Bunny and Chris Hemsworth, posed in glamorous gowns and chic suits in front of hundreds of photographers from major publications in the Costume Institute’s exhibition titled “Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion.”

However, any publicity protesters hoped for at the event was thwarted. A THR An employee who was in the Met Gala press tent said he could not hear or see any signs of the protest or arrests that were taking place down the street. The high profile of the event led to barricades being erected in Central Park, so any protesters attempting to get to the event via Central Park found the avenue blocked, according to a CBS News report.

Christy Piña contributed to this report.