The New York Police Department is taking a zero tolerance approach to law and order amid the months of anti-Israel protests roiling America.
The NYPD is ordering police to arrest any protesters if they cross the police barriers at Sunday's Israel Day Parade in Manhattan, the New York Post reported Sunday.
"Any spectator who attempts to enter the frozen zone between the barriers or who attempts to go on to the parade route must be immediately arrested for trespass," an internal NYPD memo obtained by the Post read.
"There will be no warnings and officers should not wait for the Legal Bureau personnel to arrive."
But the police officers were told not to impact the freedom of speech on both sides.
"The extent a spectator is conveying a message that is offensive to participants in the parade or to other spectators, this is protected speech and may not be the basis for enforcement," the memo added.
The Israel Day Parade is an annual celebration of the Jewish state and takes on added attention after the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks in Israel and the ensuing war on Hamas, which has fueled protests and riots worldwide as both sides of the Jewish-Hamas conflict aggressively advocate for their right to exist.
Israeli officials have said on Newsmax that Israel is seeking Hamas' demise after talk of exterminating Jews and the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks.
The Manhattan parade is using metal detectors to screen attendees, while backpacks, umbrellas, lawn folding chairs, blankets, coolers, and drones are all banned from the route, according to the NYPD memo.
"With respect to banner or large flag, the only question is whether it will obstruct the view of others," the memo added. "The message of the banner or the meaning of the flag is irrelevant."
Eric Mack ✉
Eric Mack has been a writer and editor at Newsmax since 2016. He is a 1998 Syracuse University journalism graduate and a New York Press Association award-winning writer.
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