The president of a union representing Boston police officers said they were lured into a “gauntlet” on Tuesday night when a pro-Palestinian protest turned violent.

Police said that 13 people were arrested after they became violent toward officers and blocked an entire intersection. The Boston Police Department said that agitators directly assaulted officers during the riot.

“When officers attempted to move the group to the sidewalk to allow emergency vehicles to pass, protesters surrounded police cruisers, kicked vehicle doors and resisted dispersal efforts. Several officers were assaulted during this period, including one struck in the face. Protesters also ignited smoke devices and flares, further endangering officers and bystanders,” the Boston Police Department said in a statement.

Several police officers reported that rioters were forcibly removing and damaging their equipment. Four police officers were injured in the riot, officials said.

Police detain a pro-Palestinian agitator Tuesday, Oct. 7, 2025, in Boston.  (Bryan Hecht/The Berkeley Beacon via AP)

Arrests were made for unlawful assembly, violent resistance, obstruction of emergency response efforts and assault. Prosecutors later upgraded charges for all 13 suspects, slapping them with felony “promotion of anarchy” charges.

According to Boston.com, the initial protest was organized by local Students for Justice in Palestine chapters, which coincided with the two-year mark of the Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attack by Hamas.

A spokesperson for the district attorney’s office told the Boston Herald the upgraded charges came after a Boston Police Department review of posters promoting the so-called protest, which featured a quote from a Hamas spokesperson and a burning police cruiser.

A court officer clears the area outside of a courtroom, Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2025, at Boston Municipal Court, where arraignments were held for agitators arrested at a pro-Palestinian melee in Boston. (Mark Stockwell/The Boston Herald via AP, Pool)

“Peace be upon your souls that will one day soar in the skies of your liberated Al Quid’s and Al Aqsa, purified from the defilement of your killers,” the poster read, according to police.

“Further investigation revealed violent imagery and rhetoric used in promotional media for the Oct. 7 incident,” the DA’s spokesperson said. “This organizing material promoted violence against police and presented an immediate threat to public safety which, combined with the actions of the individuals arrested, provided clear justification for the enhanced charges.”