Vehicles draped with banners supporting President Donald Trump snarled traffic around the New York metropolitan area two days before Election day and anti-Trump protesters clashed with police in Manhattan, leading to 11 arrests.
The first tri-state caravan was spotted in New Jersey around noon when vehicles were seen stopped on the Garden State Parkway near Lakewood. The number of cars wasn't exactly clear, but multiple videos suggest the caravan involved at least a few hundred.
Photos and videos collected by The Lakewood Scoop show countless vehicles decorated with American flags, Trump campaign flags, supporters wearing MAGA hats and even a Trump lookalike.
The traffic shutdown appeared to be contained to the northbound express lanes of the parkway.
At his daily briefing the following day, Gov. Phil Murphy called the decision to block traffic "silly" and "dangerous," which were sentiments echoed by New Jersey State Patrol Col. Patrick Callahan, who said detectives were investigating possible enforcement actions.
"There are plenty of ways for people to make their voices be heard but when they endanger the lives of those out there traveling our highways and byways, there really is no excuse for it and it really gave us great cause for concern," Callahan said Monday.
Support for Trump in the Garden State is certainly mixed. In a recent Rutgers-Eagleton poll, the president trailed Democratic nominee Joe Biden by more than 20 percent with registered voters.
A caravan of the president's supporters was also seen on New York's Mario Cuomo Bridge Sunday afternoon. Around 3 p.m., another large parade of vehicles drove over the bridge. New York State Police say the caravan briefly slowed traffic going over the bridge three times for between 2 and 7 minutes but the bridge was never closed completely. No arrests were made.
A Trump caravan was scheduled to roll through Manhattan on Sunday, but the vehicles never showed up. Instead, a group of counter-protesters marched from Madison Square Park towards Chelsea Piers and they were met with police in riot gear.
Police began warning protesters to leave the roadway and officers then went on to arrest 11 people. Although there were reports on Twitter of journalists being among those arrested at the protest, police said none had official press credentials issued by the city.
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Police say two of the people who were arrested went to central booking but it's unclear what charges they are facing.
