#eric adams

Members of a private WhatsApp group, including billionaires like the CEO of Dell and the former CEO of Starbucks, allegedly used the chat to discuss ways to pressure New York City Mayor Eric Adams to use police to crack down on Gaza solidarity protests at the city’s universities, according to The Washington Post. AJ+ has not seen the chat messages referenced in The Washington Post’s report directly. ⁣

⁣

NYPD officers raided encampments at schools like Columbia University and the City College of New York, arresting close to 200 protesters in just one day. The police raid at Columbia in late April was the first on-campus mass arrest in 50 years, with police using riot gear and military-grade weapons against mostly peaceful protesters. ⁣

⁣

While Gaza solidarity encampments have been frequently targeted with violence by police and pro-Israel agitators – and over 2,200 people have been arrested – a study found that out of over 550 Gaza protests at U.S. universities, 97% have been peaceful. ⁣

⁣

…⁣

Senior Producers: Kareem Yasin, Ben Angeloni⁣

But to me it seemed like someone who was watching something so ridiculous he couldn’t help but laugh.

Because that’s what it is. This trial is a farce. The NYPD and Adams are a bunch of clowns and this is their circus.

I also think that he was smiling to show that they couldn’t break him. They aren’t gonna take his smile away no matter how much they intimidate him because he knows that if they touch him people on the inside and outside of prison will give them hell.