A trans-identifying city council official who prefers they/them pronouns was arrested during a protest at Trump Tower last week, and some of his leftist colleagues on the council are coming to his defense.
On Thursday, June Rose, chief of staff of the Providence City Council, joined a raucous group that stormed into Trump Tower in New York City to protest the arrest and detention of Mahmoud Khalil, an apparent terrorist sympathizer accused of orchestrating violent, destructive demonstrations at Columbia University last year.
Wearing shirts emblazoned with anti-Israel slogans, a mob of about 150 members of Jewish Voice for Peace burst into a dining area of the Trump building and refused to leave. Nearly 100 of them, apparently including Rose, were arrested as a result.
“Those arrests are for trespassing, obstructing government administration, and resisting arrest by virtue of us having to carry some of the people out of the escalator,” said NYPD Chief of Department John Chell.
“We gave warnings on our pager system, and once we did that warning three times, the NYPD with its professionalism, as you saw, went in and made the arrests. There were no injuries. There were no incidents. There was no damaged property.”
‘We’re making decisions on revenue, where are they? They’re in jail.’
Rose, who grew up in an Orthodox Jewish family and community and who still considers himself culturally Jewish, was arrested during the incident. He was released the same day and was back in Providence by Friday, Council President Rachel Miller claimed.
According to her bio, Miller has a long history of “economic, racial, and social justice” activism. In her statement about the arrest, Miller implied that Rose had done nothing wrong.
“This is a perilous moment for our democracy, and taking action is not something to be scorned. June was using vacation time today and chose to use their time to defend constitutional freedoms,” she stated, according to GoLocalProv.
City Councilor Miguel Sanchez, whose X posts reveal a deep animus toward President Donald Trump’s agenda and who was even fired from far-left Democrat Gov. Dan McKee’s Office of Constituent Services for his anti-Israel activism, likewise stands by Rose.
“I’m so proud that we have staff members who not only do so much for our city but also use their voice to fight for a better world,” Sanchez wrote. “As the majority whip of the @pvdcitycouncil, June has my full support.”
Other council members took a different view. Councilman James Taylor even called on Rose, the highest-paid council staffer, to resign for leaving the city “on the busiest council day of the year.”
According to Taylor, last Thursday was “was a big day for the City Council” since the Finance Committee was set to consider a tax-hike proposal from Mayor Brett Smiley.
“All eyes were on the council with the administration, the budget — the most important day, when they’re chief of staff, supposed to be running the council, making sure they get everything they need — the biggest day, we’re making decisions on revenue, where are they? They’re in jail,” Taylor said.
City Council spokesperson Roxie Richner confirmed that Rose makes more than $136,000 per year.
Rose came out as bisexual more than a decade ago and as transgender last year. “I always say that my bullies knew I was queer long before I did,” he previously stated.
This arrest is the second for Rose in less than a year. He was arrested in Washington, D.C., last June in connection with a protest of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s appearance before Congress.
Rose also served as Rhode Island delegate to the Democratic National Convention last summer, and he tried to use his vote as leverage for the Palestinian cause.
“My job has always been about outcomes, about winning,” he said in the weeks leading up to the convention in Chicago. “Here, winning means fewer Palestinian children are killed. There would be no greater victory than helping save the lives of Palestinian children living under occupation.”
H/T: Libs of TikTok
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June rose, Providence, Rhode island, City council, Transgender, Queer, Bisexual, Trump tower, Palestine, Mahmoud khalil, Politics
