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Radicals bring life in America's largest city to screeching halt and vandalize 9/11 Memorial

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Cite

Cairns, K., & Betz, B. (2026, October 28). Radicals bring life in America's largest city to screeching halt and vandalize 9/11 Memorial. Fox News. https://www.foxnews.com/us/radicals-bring-life-americas-largest-city-screeching-halt-vandalize-911-memorial

Dated from the outlet's own feed. Check the original for its byline.

Fox News · collected 2026-10-29 · by Kelsie Cairns, Bradford Betz

Quick Summary

Anti-gun and anti-ICE protesters disrupted traffic on New York City's Brooklyn Bridge for about an hour on Wednesday, causing delays and prompting 14 arrests by police. Separately, a man named Johnathan Tijerina, age 31, was arrested for spray-painting messages over victims' names at the 9/11 Memorial in New York City earlier this week. Both incidents occurred while city leaders have not commented on them publicly.
Written by AI on 2026-10-29, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

Jonathan Andrew Tijerina, a 31-year-old gun control activist, was arrested on October 26, 2026, for spray-painting his anti-gun website's name, juststopkillingkids.com, in red paint over the names of 9/11 victims at the North Tower reflecting pool in Manhattan. Tijerina filmed and shared the vandalism live on Instagram, speaking directly to security cameras before being apprehended by the NYPD. The act caused over $2,500 in damages and led to charges of criminal mischief and graffiti.

Meanwhile, more than a dozen anti-ICE protesters were arrested for blocking traffic on the Brooklyn Bridge in New York City on the same day Tijerina's vandalism occurred. Protesters chanted slogans equating NYPD with ICE and demanded the release of Oscar Belgal, an illegal immigrant from the Dominican Republic who was detained by ICE agents in the Bronx following a shooting incident earlier that month.

Politicians, particularly Republicans, expressed outrage over these incidents, highlighting what they view as increasing lawlessness and disregard for American values.

Written for “Vandalism at 9/11 Memorial Reveals Hatred” on 2026-11-05, grounded in this article and the 4 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Vandalism at 9/11 Memorial Reveals Hatred
Crime & Law · 5 article(s) covering the same event. Compare every outlet's account →

Compared with similar articles

This article reads leans left and hedges 16% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
New York Post
⚖️ Leans left Hedges 0 of 7 claims Outlet record 66/100
Washington Examiner
Hedges 1 of 3 claims Outlet record 69/100
“Article A describes the vandalism of the 9/11 memorial, while Article B mentions both the memorial vandalism and a separate anti-ICE protest on the Brooklyn Bridge.”
New York Post
⚖️ Leans strongly right further right than this Hedges 0 of 38 claims Outlet record 66/100
Daily Mail
⚖️ Leans left Hedges 0 of 20 claims Outlet record 69/100
“Article A describes a single individual vandalizing the 9/11 Memorial, while Article B mentions both this incident and a separate anti-ICE demonstration on the Brooklyn Bridge.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
19
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
16%
3 of 19 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
Leans left
of the writing, not the subject · beta estimate
Publisher signals
68/100
Fox News's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
5
Crime & Law
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-29 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

Fox News · 6677 article(s) · 13 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 13 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Kelsie Cairns
34 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 In a statement, DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin said, "This tragedy would never have happened were it not for the multiple failures of sanctuary policies.
🔮 Governor Hochul's top priority is public safety and she will always fight to protect all New Yorkers."
🔮 We will be working to ensure that upcoming renovations to the pedestrian bridge near the scene and the promenade itself will include sufficient lighting."
🔮 She condemned what she called a "culture" that "has never changed." "The number of people involved and the repugnancy of her allegations would’ve drawn you to local police department fairly quickly," she said.
🔮 "There is a panoply of drugs out there that will destroy your kids," says retired NYPD inspector and Fox News contributor Paul Mauro.
🔮 With no decision rendered at the conclusion of Thursday's arguments, the judge is expected to issue a formal written ruling in the coming days on whether James will remain as special prosecutor or if the investigation must be reassigned.
🔮 Although this is a gut punch, our prayers were answered that we would find Kaden and Jackson, allowing some closure for the family."
🔮 Fox News Digital has reached out to the mayor's office for comment.
🔮 Investigators are urging the public to come forward as there may be more victims of an alleged serial sex offender who attacked a woman at a popular Halloween attraction.
🔮 "We recognize that the decision the law and constitution required us to make on Sunday morning may not be popular.
Also by Kelsie Cairns
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 34 articles by Kelsie Cairns →
Bradford Betz
13 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 "The Government may be able to identify a qualifying determination or cure the procedural deficiency, but it has not supplied a sufficient basis for the judicial relief currently sought," Joun wrote in his 10-page decision.
🔮 Republican California gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton rallied Sunday in Pacific Palisades, a Los Angeles neighborhood devastated by the January 2025 wildfires, blaming Democratic leadership for the destruction and slow recovery just days before voters will choose the state's next governor.
🔮 Fox News Digital has reached out to the mayor's office for comment.
🔮 "But with only a week to go, Blakeman and Hochul are running virtually evenly upstate and in the downstate suburbs, while Hochul has an 11-point lead with independents," Greenberg said, noting that Blakeman is "quickly running out of time to close a gap that is growing rather than narrowing." Despite Hochul's overall advantage, the survey revealed uncertainty among voters over whether either candidate would make life more affordable for average New Yorkers.
🔮 Casar also expressed support for Talarico, telling the crowd that electing him would help advance Democrats' legislative priorities.
🔮 Macron condemned the destruction Saturday evening, writing on X that those responsible for damaging property, attacking public buildings and looting businesses would face prosecution and punishment.
🔮 Wanying Zhang, 34, of Irvine, argued through her attorney that her American citizenship, family ties and history of returning from overseas trips demonstrated she would appear for future court proceedings, according to a nine-page defense filing obtained by Fox News Digital. Zhang was arrested Sunday at Los Angeles International Airport while preparing to board a flight to China. She faces a federal charge of acting as an unregistered agent of a foreign government.
🔮 The White House has pushed back on interpretations of Trump's latest comments, saying the president was arguing that American cities could have faced threats from Iran if Tehran had obtained a nuclear weapon. White House communications director Steven Cheung said the ensuing "media freakout" was "not rooted in reality," adding that Trump "was clearly stating U.S. cities would have been threatened if a nuclear Iran hadn't been stopped." "America is safer because of the President.
🔮 A federal district court judge will determine his sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
🔮 Asked whether criminal groups could be connected to the latest violence, police said the investigation had not reached a point where they could make such a determination.
Also by Bradford Betz
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 13 articles by Bradford Betz →

Topics

9/11 Fox News Digital NYPD New York City New York City's

Subjects

Fox News Digital ORG · 4× NYPD ORG · 2× Dominican NORP · 1× ICE ORG · 1× Manhattan GPE · 1× Marble Hill GPE · 1× New York City GPE · 1× New York City's GPE · 1× Oscar Bergal PERSON · 1× the Big Apple GPE · 1×

Narrative

Brooklyn Bridge anti-ICE blockade The anti-ICE crowd's demonstration was met with frustrated drivers – many of them commuting to work – who were stuck in the gridlock; drivers were seen on video pleading with agitators to gain access to the bridge.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-29
🔮 Fox News Digital has reached out to the mayor's office for comment.

Claims (19 extracted, 3 hedged)

Anti-gun and anti-ICE radicals are breaking laws and quite literally leaving their mark on New York City. asserted
radicals → break → City
A group of anti-ICE menaces blocked entrances to New York City's Brooklyn Bridge on Wednesday, causing bumper-to-bumper traffic. Meanwhile, one man is facing charges for allegedly spray-painting over victims' names at the 9/11 memorial. uncertain
man → block → memorial
Both events happened this week in the Big Apple while city leaders have remained quiet on both issues. asserted
leaders → happen → issues
Brooklyn Bridge anti-ICE blockade The anti-ICE crowd's demonstration was met with frustrated drivers – many of them commuting to work – who were stuck in the gridlock; drivers were seen on video pleading with agitators to gain access to the bridge. asserted
drivers → meet → bridge
One driver was heard saying, "I just want to get to work!" asserted
I → hear → work
The radicals were heard on megaphone shouting "NYPD, K-K-K, I-C-E, THEY'RE ALL THE SAME!" asserted
radicals → hear → NYPD
One person shouted "Free Oscar Bergal!" in response to a recent ICE arrest of the illegal Dominican national that resulted in a shooting in Marble Hill, Manhattan, earlier this month. asserted
that → shout → Hill
Police eventually arrived to arrest and remove the people disrupting traffic. asserted
Police → arrive → traffic
The bridge caused delays for about an hour when the group showed up at 12:30 in the afternoon, and were eventually arrested and removed by 1:30, according to ABC7. uncertain
group → cause → ABC7
The NYPD confirmed to Fox News Digital that 14 people were arrested and there were no reported injuries. asserted
people → confirm → Digital
Fox News Digital has reached out to the mayor's office for comment. asserted
Digital → reach → comment
Port Authority Police confirmed to Fox News Digital that Johnathan Tijerina, 31, was arrested after he allegedly vandalized the 9/11 Memorial earlier this week. uncertain
he → confirm → Memorial
On Monday, a message reading "just stop killing kids" was sprayed across several engraved names on the memorial. asserted
message → read → memorial
The suspect was seen in his own self-recorded video spray painting the memorial; his organization "Just Stop Killing Kids" shared the video. asserted
organization → see → video
In another post the organization wrote: "On October 26, 2026, Jon Tijerina was arrested for spraying red paint on Freedom Tower in NYC. asserted
Tijerina → write → NYC
He is demanding that Trump and Mamdani enforce common-sense, highly popular demands with respect to guns such as Universal Background Checks and a National Gun Registry. asserted
Trump → demand → Checks
A spokesperson for the 9/11 Memorial & Museum told Fox News Digital that security personnel and law enforcement responded quickly and restored the affected area. asserted
personnel → tell → area
"The 9/11 Memorial is a sacred place of reflection at the heart of a rebuilt World Trade Center that honors the 2,983 victims killed in the September 11, 2001 and February 26, 1993 terrorist attacks," the spokesperson said in a statement. asserted
spokesperson → rebuild → statement
"This brief incident was swiftly addressed by security staff and law enforcement, and the impacted area was immediately restored to its commemorative state." asserted
area → address → state
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