January 28, 2026 NEW YORK — A quiet Tuesday evening in Lower Manhattan transformed into a high-stakes political battlefield as over 100 protesters stormed the Hilton Garden Inn in Tribeca, turning the luxury lobby into a staging ground against federal immigration enforcement.
By the time the dust settled, 65 people were in zip-ties—and the Mayor of New York City was officially applauding their cause.
The Midnight Siege: "Abolish ICE"
Just before 6 p.m. on Jan. 27, the hotel lobby was flooded by a coordinated group of demonstrators. In a theatrical reveal, protesters shed their winter coats to uncover shirts emblazoned with "Abolish ICE" and "Hilton Houses ICE."
The group wasn’t just there for a sit-in; they were armed with whistles—a symbol used nationwide to alert undocumented immigrants of federal raids—and haunting photographs of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, two U.S. citizens recently killed by ICE agents during a controversial operation in Minnesota.
"Nuremberg" Rhetoric and Tense Standoffs
The rhetoric inside the lobby reached a fever pitch. One masked organizer took to a megaphone, drawing a chilling parallel between modern immigration enforcement and the Nazi regime.
"How many of you are ready for the new Nuremberg trials?" the protester shouted to the crowd, vowing that those behind the ICE operations would eventually face international justice.
For hours, a tense standoff gripped the building. When the NYPD Strategic Response Group finally moved in, they were met with "soft" resistance—protesters hunkering down and refusing to move. At least two individuals had to be physically hoisted and carried out by officers.
Mayor Mamdani Weighs In: A City Divided?
In a move that is sure to spark intense debate across the Five Boroughs, Mayor Zohran Mamdani didn't just acknowledge the incident—he "commended" it.
