Protesters arrested inside Trump Tower lobby

The police had to carry some of the protesters to the vans in order to break up the Thursday demonstration, as other heavily armed officers blocked the entrances.

Previously, the protest participants entered the skyscraper and sat down near the elevators, holding up signs saying "No Ban" and "No Wall" in an apparent rejection of President Trump's immigration policy. In the weeks after taking office, Trump has forged ahead with his plan to build a massive wall along the Mexico border and repeatedly attempted to ban immigrants from several Muslim countries.

The protesters also chanted slogans against raids on illegal immigrants across the US, including "say it loud, say it clear, immigrants are welcome here." New York reporter Jack Smith IV tweeted several videos from the scene.

They were arrested after they refused to leave, police said, adding that charges were pending. The group behind the protesters identified themselves as a New York political organization called "Rise and Resist."

Before moving to the White House, Donald Trump used the Fifth Avenue building as his primary residence and the seat of his business empire. His wife Melania and his son Barron Trump still live in the three-floor suite at the top of the Trump Tower.

The building's atrium is usually open to the public, although security was boosted after Trump was elected president last year.