NEW YORK — Police say 19 people were arrested in Manhattan Thursday during another night of protests in the aftermath of the election. 

According to police, most of the arrests took place in Union Square. One person was arrested for assaulting an officer.

One group of protesters gathered outside the Stonewall Inn and then walked east to Bond Street and Broadway, where there were skirmishes between police and protesters. NY1 crews spotted a heavy police presence and police vans in the area.

The NYPD said officers made an arrest there after the department said an officer "was pushed to the ground" and had a chain "pressed against his throat." Police say that person will be charged with assault and criminal possession of a weapon. 

That group of protesters was later spotted in Union Square, a frequent spot for protests since the death of George Floyd earlier this year. NY1 crews spotted another standoff between police and protesters there in which a lot of pushing could be seen. 

Video captured police on loudspeakers telling demonstrators to move out of the streets. When that didn’t happen, officers moved in.

Public Advocate Jumaane Williams was in the area and said he was pushed by police in one instance, while trying to intervene and deescalate the situation. He also says protests were peaceful overall, and that police were the ones aggressively clearing the area to make the arrests.

"For the most part, it seemed like the protesters were nonviolent," he said. "Obviously, there were some incidents that I was involved in, I'm trying to get some clarity on what occurred there. It just generally seemed like the response was a little heavier than what I'm seeing the response should be, and so that concerns me a lot."

The NYPD, for its part, acknowledged on Thursday that officers responding to a protest in Greenwich Village on Wednesday night could have communicated better, but the department defended arrests that have been criticized as too aggressive, saying a small organized group of agitators armed with weapons hijacked peaceful protests.

The NYPD said the troublemakers came to the protests with plans to throw objects at police, start fires, break windows, and record arrests on camera for what the department described as anti-police propaganda. Deputy Commissioner of Intelligence and Counterterrorism John Miller said these tactics were seen in Portland, Seattle, and Minneapolis before being adopted in the city.

“What we have for the most part are groups of peaceful protesters, and within those groups basically using the larger crowd for cover,” Miller said.

Police allege the agitators assaulted officers, flashed lasers in officers’ eyes, interrupted radio communications, used bike scouts to monitor police movement to determine where they could block traffic and blocked traffic with construction barriers. According to the NYPD, some of the people arrested were repeat offenders.

The NYPD said these individuals caused minimal property damage, but the department shared photos of an array of weapons they said were confiscated, including illegal fireworks, knives, crowbars, stun guns, and hammers.

Officials also denounced a woman, seen in video the department released, who spat in the face of an officer during a confrontation. The officer then took down the woman to arrest her. NYPD Chief of Patrol Juanita Holmes praised the officer for showing restraint while the woman screamed in his face.

The NYPD said it arrested 56 people during the protests in Manhattan; 52 of those led to desk appearance tickets, but four people were slapped with more serious charges, including assault.

The demonstration started as a peaceful march from Midtown calling for every ballot in the presidential race to be counted.

As protesters marched south towards Washington Square Park, things became contentious. Protesters said police were the aggressors and boxed them in while they were peacefully demonstrating.

"It was peaceful. They started attacking and tackling, people on bicycles," said one protester. "The NYPD was tackling peaceful protesters. We were trapped. They tried just arresting everyone in front of them."

"One block over, they cornered all of us. They had police on one side, police on the other, and they pushed in with their bikes, causing us to fall on each other," said another. "The girl linked next to me was arrested. There was probably seven or eight on the ground. Then, they forced us out of the square."

NY1 crews also saw some protesters being arrested by police officers at 14th Street and Union Square, though police had not officially commented on those arrests.

Many people who witnessed the scene told us that they weren't sure what caused the altercations.

"We were very afraid. We were very confused. We have a permit to be here. There had been absolutely no violence earlier in the night, and they pushed us onto the sidewalk, more confusion, and then that is the last that I saw," said a protester.

For the last few weeks, the NYPD has been preparing for social unrest around the presidential election. Officers, including some in riot gear, are keeping an eye on the demonstrations and are posted outside of Trump Tower.

Some demonstrators called the police presence at peaceful protests a violation of their rights.

“Why are they here in riot gear when people are peacefully assembling?" one protester said.

Mayor Bill de Blasio on Thursday defended the police’s handling of Wednesday's protests, saying officers are using deescalation tactics first.

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This story includes reporting from Lydia Hu, Ruschell Boone, and Shannan Ferry.