More than two dozen activists were cuffed and led out of Palantir Technologies' West Village offices on Monday after staging a brief sit-in that started as a Passover-themed protest in Union Square. Demonstrators marched from the "Seder in the Streets" gathering, then sat down in the building's foyer, blocking the entrance as hundreds crowded the sidewalk outside. NYPD officers moved in and took multiple people into custody, with police saying charges were still pending.
What police say
According to the New York Daily News, more than two dozen protesters planted themselves in the lobby at 45 W. 18th St. after the Union Square action. The outlet reported that roughly 500 people first rallied in the park before a contingent peeled off and headed to the Palantir building, where hundreds more waited outside while officers processed those detained inside. An NYPD spokesperson told the paper that charges for those taken into custody remained pending.
Organizers and motivations
The action was led by Jews for Racial and Economic Justice, which billed the event as a "Seder in the Streets" and cast the move into Palantir's lobby as a protest over corporate ties to federal immigration enforcement. Participants blended ritual readings and songs with civil-disobedience tactics, using the sit-in as a way to call public attention to what they described as corporate complicity with deportations. Supporters framed the lobby occupation as a deliberate escalation from the earlier Union Square demonstration.
Why Palantir?
Palantir has become a recurring focus for immigrant-rights activists because of its data-analysis work for governments and law-enforcement agencies, and organizers said they chose the company's Manhattan office to spotlight that relationship. As reported by the New York Daily News, Monday's sit-in is one of several recent actions aimed at private contractors that work with federal agencies. Protesters and legal observers say sit-ins like this are meant to force a public conversation, even when participants know they could face arrest and potential trespass charges.
What happens next
Organizers said they planned to roll out next steps and legal support for those arrested, though no court dates were public as of press time. The NYPD said it was still processing the cases, and that any charges would be determined by prosecutors, who typically decide whether to pursue trespass, disorderly conduct, or other counts. The Palantir action is the latest in a series of New York demonstrations that weave ritual Jewish protest together with direct action targeting immigration and police policy.
