'Arrest Trump' Banner Lofted Into Grand Central Terminal During State Of The Union

On Tuesday afternoon, hours before the State of the Union address given by President Donald Trump, a small but high-profile protest took place in and around Grand Central Terminal. By the end of the demonstration, a single banner dangled from the iconic ceiling over the main concourse, held up by some balloons.

Passerby JoAnne Wasserman spotted the banner around 7 p.m., and tells us she didn't notice any more banners in the immediate area. The MTA's Nancy Gamerman told Gothamist this morning, "I can confirm that the 'Arrest Trump' sign was removed early this morning." We are waiting to hear back about how that was done (trained owls?), and will update when we have more information. [Update: Gamerman tells us, "The MTA Police and Metro-North’s Grand Central Fire Brigade dragged it down using a balloon while Grand Central was closed overnight."]

‏ During the speech, Trump connected the recent fatal shooting of 20-year-old Abel Moss on a Queens subway platform with his desire for a southern border wall. "The savage gang, MS-13, now operates in 20 different American States, and they almost all come through our southern border," he stated. "Just yesterday, an MS-13 gang member was taken into custody for a fatal shooting on a subway platform in New York City. We are removing these gang members by the thousands, but until we secure our border they’re going to keep streaming back in."

The alleged shooter, 26-year-old Ramiro Gutierrez, is an alleged MS-13 gang member and is facing charges for murder, gang assault, and criminal possession of a weapon. It is unclear how he entered the country; ICE officials told the tabloid that Gutierrez is “illegally present” in the U.S. having arrived "without inspection at an unknown date and time."

Another "Arrest Trump" banner was displayed on the Park Avenue/Pershing Square Viaduct the terminal. The Rise and Resist group confirmed they were behind this, and shared photos and videos from outside of Grand Central, declaring, "Trump had committed crimes and should be brought to justice. Nobody is above the law."

Trump returned to the White House residence following his address, and at press time had not been arrested or charged with any crimes, nor had an impeachment inquiry been formally opened in the House of Representatives.