Hundreds of Jewish demonstrators flooded New York’s Trump Tower on Thursday, rallying in support of Palestinians and detained Palestinian student campaigner Mahmoud Khalil.

The demonstrators, wearing matching red T-shirts reading “Jews say stop arming Israel,” protested for over an hour inside the Manhattan skyscraper, home to the Trump Organization and former President Donald Trump's personal residence.

The protest, organized by Jewish Voice for Peace, took place in the building famously known as the site where Trump launched his 2015 presidential campaign.

Police arrested 98 people for crimes, including trespassing. The group, which appeared to surprise security and police, chanted, “fight Nazis, not students,” a reference to Trump’s crackdown on foreign students involved in pro-Palestinian protests.

Protesters were detained and loaded onto buses in front of the tower, as a helicopter and drone flew overhead.

Meanwhile, at Columbia University, where Khalil had been a student, administrators announced they had issued "multi-year suspensions, temporary degree revocations, and expulsions" to students involved in last year’s campus protests against Israel’s actions in Gaza.

This move came just days after the Trump administration cut $400 million in federal funding for the university, accusing it of not addressing anti-Semitism sufficiently. The announcement also followed the recent detention of Khalil by immigration authorities.

Khalil, a recent graduate and protest leader, faces accusations from the Trump administration of leading activities aligned with Hamas, the militant group responsible for the 7 October 2023 attack that triggered the war.

His arrest has sparked outrage from critics of the Trump administration, including free speech advocates, who argue that the action threatens freedom of expression.

'What fascists do'

At Trump Tower, filmmaker and Columbia Professor James Schamus told AFP "New York Jews are coming out to demand the release of Mahmoud Khalil and demand that our Jewishness not be weaponized to steal the rights of American citizens and to end our democracy."

"The Trump-Musk regime has made it clear that they are not charging Mahmoud Khalil with any crime, that they are accusing him of having opinions that they say 'align with Hamas'," he added ahead of the protest action.

Confused tourists visiting the skyscraper took pictures and milled around as police attempted to clear protesters, with an officer delivering a large box of MaxCuff plastic cable ties.

"It was suspicious when all these people came in and none went to the restaurant," said a Trump Tower employee who declined to be named.

Police Chief John Chell said the protest passed off without injuries or damage and that the atrium had been cleared of protesters within two hours.

"As Jews of conscience, we know our history and we know where this leads. This is what fascists do as they cement control" said Jewish Voice for Peace member Jane Hirschmann, a Jewish New Yorker whose grandfather and uncle were abducted by the Nazis.