Pro-Palestinian protesters burn flags and scuffle with police near Philadelphia City Hall

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) — Several people were arrested Thursday evening after pro-Palestinian protesters burned flags in front of City Hall and scuffled with Philadelphia police officers.

Helicopter 6 was over the scene at JFK Boulevard and N. Broad Street shortly after 8 p.m.

Several protesters waved Palestinian flags and burned other flags – one of which appeared to be an American flag.

At one point, a woman throws several smaller American flags onto the pile.

According to police, the protest began at Rittenhouse Square and grew to about 400 people.

As the crowd marched down Chestnut Street, an act of vandalism occurred, according to police, and police began requesting additional officers.

As soon as the fires broke out, the officers were dispatched.

“There have been a handful of arrests. We are still in the process of investigating and clarifying this, but this type of behavior absolutely cannot be tolerated,” said First Deputy Commissioner John Stanford.

“We are always open to individuals exercising their right to free speech that the First Amendment gives them. We are here for that reason, to protect and to make sure that everyone has the opportunity to do that. However, when there is violence or a situation arises where individuals are destroying property, the dynamic of everything changes,” Stanford continued.

Because of the Fourth of July holiday, there were already many police officers in the area. They were also aware of the protest and had therefore assigned a special group of police officers to it.