Police Reportedly Arrest Veterans After They Refused to Leave Vietnam War Memorial in NYC

Police reportedly arrested several anti-war veterans and other protesters at the Vietnam war memorial in New York City Monday night after they refused to leave the site after the 10 p.m. curfew time. Some of the individuals arrested were reportedly Vietnam veterans, though it was unclear how many arrests were made.

Veterans for Peace and other anti-war protesters gathered at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Plaza in NYC on Monday night to mark the 12th anniversary of the "invasion and occupation of Afghanistan" and honor the fallen until morning. The Park Service reportedly rejected the group's permit application to hold their demonstration at the site, but they proceeded anyway.

The NYPD reportedly issued several verbal warnings, instructing the veterans and other demonstrators to leave the site or they would be arrested. A spokesman with the NYPD could not immediately confirm the arrests to TheBlaze.

War Vets handcuffed themselves together at NYC Vietnam Memorial Plaza on 12th anniversary of the war in Afghanistan. Credit: Twitter/@BatmanWI

In a UStream video from WeAreChange.org that appears to show the incident as it unfolded, demonstrators can be heard reading the names of dead soldiers and singing chants of "whose side are you on?" There was also at least one person wearing a Guy Fawkes mask, a regular sight at previous Occupy Wall Street protests.

After multiple warnings, police move in to make arrests.

Video streaming by Ustream

Veterans for Peace held a similar demonstration at the same memorial on Oct. 7, 2012. Seventeen people, including 11 Vietnam veterans, were reportedly arrested on that occasion for assembling at the site past the 10 p.m. curfew. The group claimed their First Amendment rights overrules the memorial's curfew.

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