Pro-Palestinian protesters burn flags, scuffle with police near Philadelphia City Hall

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) — Several people were arrested Thursday night after pro-Palestinian protesters burned flags and scuffled with Philadelphia police officers outside City Hall.

Helicopter 6 was on scene at the corner of JFK Boulevard and N. Broad Street shortly after 8 p.m.

Several protesters waved Palestinian flags while burning other flags, one of which appeared to be an American flag.

At one point, a woman throws several small American flags onto the pile.

According to police, the protest began at Rittenhouse Square and gathered about 400 people.

As the crowd moved down Chestnut Street, police said an act of vandalism had occurred and that's when they began calling in more resources.

The officers intervened as soon as the fires started.

“A few arrests have been made. We are still working on this case, but this type of behaviour absolutely cannot be tolerated,” said First Deputy Commissioner John Stanford.

“We are always open to individuals who want to exercise their First Amendment rights. We are there for that purpose, to protect and ensure that everyone has the opportunity to do so. However, once the situation becomes violent or individuals are about to destroy property, the dynamics of that change,” Stanford continued.

Due to the July 4th holiday, the police already had a number of officers on site. They were also aware of the protest and had therefore assigned a separate group of officers to this task.