Chelsea Manning Among Nearly 100 Arrested in Schumer Protest Over Israel

Nearly 100 protesters were arrested Monday during a demonstration urging Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer and Senator Kirsten Gillibrand to block a proposed U.S. weapons sale to Israel, according to organizers and police.

The protest, led by the antiwar group Jewish Voice for Peace, drew hundreds of demonstrators who initially attempted to stage a sit-in inside the Manhattan offices of the two New York Democrats. Organizers said the action was aimed at pressuring Schumer and Gillibrand to support legislation that would halt the sale of thousands of U.S.-made bombs to Israel.

Among the roughly 90 people taken into custody were whistleblower Chelsea Manning, actor Hari Nef and New York City Council Member Alexa Avilés, according to a spokesperson for Jewish Voice for Peace.

After security blocked demonstrators from entering the building, protesters moved outside and blocked traffic, chanting "fund people, not bombs," as police arrested them and loaded detainees onto three buses.

The demonstration focused on resolutions introduced by Sen. Bernie Sanders, an independent from Vermont, that could block more than $600 million in U.S. weapons sales to Israel. Similar measures introduced by Sanders in the past have failed, though his most recent effort last summer drew support from more than half of Senate Democrats amid mounting concern over hunger and humanitarian conditions in Gaza. Schumer and Gillibrand did not support those measures.

Organizers said Israel's recent air and ground operations in southern Lebanon, along with the broader U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, have heightened the urgency ahead of a Senate vote expected later this week.

"This is the moment when Schumer and Gillibrand must listen to their constituents," said Sonya Meyerson‑Knox, communications director for Jewish Voice for Peace. "The majority of Americans and New Yorkers want a resolution to what the Israeli government is doing."

Offices for Schumer and Gillibrand did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

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This story was originally published April 13, 2026 at 4:49 PM.