Thousands of Yemeni-Americans and their supporters rallied on the steps of Brooklyn’s Borough Hall on Thursday evening to protest Donald Trump’s executive order banning entry to travelers from Yemen and six other Muslim-majority nations.
Enormous crowd here at Brooklyn Borough Hall supporting #BodegaStrike #NoBanNoWall chanting "USA! USA!" Very high energy. pic.twitter.com/3y4yJM95VC
— Mike Sandmel (@mikeysandmel) February 2, 2017
The #BodegaStrike rally keeps breaking into loud chants of "USA!" pic.twitter.com/OMo52i8sug
— Christopher Mathias (@letsgomathias) February 2, 2017
My colleague Lauren Feeney was at the rally and streamed live video updates via Facebook.
Yemeni-Americans are gathering in Brooklyn today to protest Trump's executive order. Scenes from the #BodegaProtest: https://t.co/BOZFXKWO3y pic.twitter.com/tDYTo4NZxr
— The Intercept (@theintercept) February 2, 2017
Images shared by other journalists at the rally, including Liam Stack of the New York Times and Joe Penney of Reuters, showed a sea of Yemeni and American flags.
There are *a lot* of Yemeni bodega owners (and their supporters) at the rally in Downtown Brooklyn pic.twitter.com/s6xUFOxym3
— Liam Stack (@liamstack) February 2, 2017
Massive yemeni community protest in front of brooklyn borough hall now pic.twitter.com/xsWsGa4VyN
— Joe Penney (@joepenney) February 2, 2017
https://twitter.com/AASchapiro/status/827261673748586496
The rally took place during an eight-hour strike by hundreds of Yemeni-owned grocery stores, also known as bodegas, across New York City.
https://twitter.com/katieraffa/status/827247655042572294
At my local bodega. #bodega #bodegastrike pic.twitter.com/SGP4j36qHG
— Shawna Klein (@shawnalaken) February 2, 2017
https://twitter.com/AllMyChandler/status/827270686565507075
https://twitter.com/benpiven/status/827258962902867971
Supporting our neighbors in Crown Heights ?? #BodegaStrike #NoBanNoWall pic.twitter.com/acx6qtlwYp
— Rory Solomon (@rorys) February 2, 2017
Nadal Deli, a bodega in the Bronx is 24 hours, so they plan on closing after buying locks, since they never had to close.
— Talal Ansari (@TalalNAnsari) February 2, 2017
Shutting down pic.twitter.com/M8ZE4BhR4k
— Talal Ansari (@TalalNAnsari) February 2, 2017
IT’S EVEN WORSE THAN WE THOUGHT.
What we’re seeing right now from Donald Trump is a full-on authoritarian takeover of the U.S. government.
This is not hyperbole.
Court orders are being ignored. MAGA loyalists have been put in charge of the military and federal law enforcement agencies. The Department of Government Efficiency has stripped Congress of its power of the purse. News outlets that challenge Trump have been banished or put under investigation.
Yet far too many are still covering Trump’s assault on democracy like politics as usual, with flattering headlines describing Trump as “unconventional,” “testing the boundaries,” and “aggressively flexing power.”
The Intercept has long covered authoritarian governments, billionaire oligarchs, and backsliding democracies around the world. We understand the challenge we face in Trump and the vital importance of press freedom in defending democracy.
We’re independent of corporate interests. Will you help us?
IT’S BEEN A DEVASTATING year for journalism — the worst in modern U.S. history.
We have a president with utter contempt for truth aggressively using the government’s full powers to dismantle the free press. Corporate news outlets have cowered, becoming accessories in Trump’s project to create a post-truth America. Right-wing billionaires have pounced, buying up media organizations and rebuilding the information environment to their liking.
In this most perilous moment for democracy, The Intercept is fighting back. But to do so effectively, we need to grow.
That’s where you come in. Will you help us expand our reporting capacity in time to hit the ground running in 2026?
We’re independent of corporate interests. Will you help us?
I’M BEN MUESSIG, The Intercept’s editor-in-chief. It’s been a devastating year for journalism — the worst in modern U.S. history.
We have a president with utter contempt for truth aggressively using the government’s full powers to dismantle the free press. Corporate news outlets have cowered, becoming accessories in Trump’s project to create a post-truth America. Right-wing billionaires have pounced, buying up media organizations and rebuilding the information environment to their liking.
In this most perilous moment for democracy, The Intercept is fighting back. But to do so effectively, we need to grow.
That’s where you come in. Will you help us expand our reporting capacity in time to hit the ground running in 2026?
We’re independent of corporate interests. Will you help us?
Contact the author:
Related
Homeland Security Inspector General Opens Investigation of Muslim Ban, Orders Document Preservation
Trump Executive Order Threatens Foreign Students. How Will Their Universities Respond?
Trump’s Muslim Ban Triggers Chaos, Heartbreak, and Resistance
Judge Halts Deportations After Protesters Swarm Airports Over Trump’s Order Barring Muslims
Latest Stories
Kash Patel Got Arrested for Public Urination After a Night of Drinking
The FBI director was arrested twice in his youth for alcohol-related incidents that he said were “not representative of my usual conduct.”
Chilling Dissent
“We Knew They Were Paying Informants”: SPLC Donors Reject Trump DOJ Fraud Claims
Twenty donors to the Southern Poverty Law Center said the alleged “fraud” being prosecuted in their name was exactly how they hoped the group would spend their money.
Palantir Is Helping Trump’s IRS Conduct “Massive-Scale” Data Mining
Military contractor Palantir has been paid more than $130 million by the IRS to analyze sensitive federal databases.