People Demand Answers After New York Woman Is Thrown Into Unmarked Van by NYPD During Arrest at Protest

New York City Mayor Bill De Blasio is speaking out about the arrest of an 18-year-old woman in Manhattan who was seen on video being pulled off the street and forced into an unmarked SUV by police at a Tuesday protest. "I think it was the wrong time and the wrong place to effectuate that arrest."

Nikki Stone was arrested by officers in plain clothes as other officers fended off protesters with their bicycles to stop them from intervening. She was then pushed into an unmarked SUV—a move that is being compared to tactics used by federal agents in Portland. 

The NYPD said Stone was wanted for allegedly spray painting police cameras. Hours after being taken into custody, she was issued a desk appearance ticket and released. 

"When officers from the warrant squad took the woman into custody, they were assaulted with rocks and bottles," the NYPD said in the statement.

Some people on social media pushed back on the NYPD's claim, saying that video captured from multiple angles did not show anyone throwing rocks and bottles. 

"You’re lying," said one tweet. "As your tweet says there’s VIDEO of the kidnapping. No bottles or rocks. We all know you’re lying, because we all watched multiple videos of the kidnapping."

New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and the American Civil Liberties Union were among those who spoke out about the arrest.

"Our civil liberties are on brink," Ocasio-Cortez said. "This is not a drill. There is no excuse for snatching women off the street and throwing them into unmarked vans. To not protect our rights is to give them away. It is our responsibility to resist authoritarianism."

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