
At least seven people were arrested Thursday morning in Manhattan after trying to disrupt the annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade as part of a protest against the grand jury decision in Ferguson, Missouri.

The demonstrators used the hashtag #Stoptheparade on Twitter to rally supporters to their cause in New York City ahead of the holiday festivities.

'Listen, I am a big defender of parades. Basically #stoptheparade is just taking the existing parade & making it more meaningful, so win-win? wrote user Em Cameron Thursday morning.

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Busted: Police officers in New York City arrested at least seven Ferguson protesters during annual Thanksgiving parade

On the ground: Cops are handcuffing a man near the NYPD barricades along the parade route on Sixth Avenue

Blue wall: Hundreds of officers were guarding the a parade path as 3.5million people came out to watch the extravaganza

Offensive: Protesters marched down the street carrying banners that read 'Black Lives Matter' and indirectly calling police officers 'pigs'

Cuffed: All the people arrested during the protest are facing disorderly conduct charges

Carted off: The men and women taken into custody during the rally were loaded onto an NYPD bus and taken away

Making good on his promise: Police Commissioner Bratton has vowed that he would not allow anyone to spoil the parade

Rally: More than 50 people gathered outside the New York Public Library on Fifth Avenue to protest against the Ferguson grand jury decision

Clear message: Activists came armed with signs airing their views on police and the US prison system

Before the annual parade got under way at 9am, some 50 people gathered outside the New York Public Library on Fifth Avenue carrying signs and chanting ‘No Justice! No peace!' and ‘Justice for Mike Brown!’

The group protesting the grand jury decision not to indict Officer Darren Wilson in the August killing of unarmed black teenager Michael Brown in Ferguson walked down Fifth Avenue towards 37th Street, but then tried to enter the parade route on Sixth Avenue.

When officers posted along the street told the demonstrators that they were not allowed to be there, tempers flared and some of the marchers reportedly started pushing against NYPD barricades.

One of the marchers was arrested after he allegedly flipped over a trash can.

The station WNYW also reported that someone tossed an object from a building overlooking the parade path.

However, rally participants claim that cops attacked them for no reason.

Jostled: Police say protesters pushed against the barricades and one of them flipped over a trash can

Blocked way: The activists tried to enter the parade route but were stopped by a wall of cops

Protesters were allowed to march down Fifth Avenue, but they were told they could not be on Sixth Avenue

Social media: Organizers used the hashtag Stoptheparade on Twitter to rally people to their cause

Peaceful: Most activists protested peacefully by holding up signs and chanting slogans

People came together to call attention to Michael Brown's killing at the hands of a Missouri cop

The Thursday morning protest came following a night of rallies and marches across New York City

‘The only weapons we had were cardboard signs and our voices, yet the police pulled out their nightsticks and started chasing us,’ Angela Pradham, 18, told New York Post.

All told, seven people were handcuffed and placed inside an NYPD bus, reported PIX11. They are facing disorderly conduct charges.

Some people continued protesting peacefully near Fifth Avenue and 37th Street.

NYPD Commissioner William Bratton had said in no uncertain terms that he would not let anyone disrupt the Thanksgiving celebration, which was attended this year by estimated 3.5million people, with 50million watching from home.

‘We will not tolerate, under any circumstances, any effort to disrupt this parade,’ Bratton said Thursday morning. ‘This is a national event, a historic event. Anybody who would seek to interrupt it would be callous, indeed, on this very special day.’

Twitter user Gabrini Leblanc wrote at the conclusion of the parade: '#stoptheparade was a success, even if the parade itself wasn't shut down. People are seeing the truth, and stopping to think. ‘

Celebration: A man dressed as Santa Claus waves as he rides on his float down Central Park West during the 88th Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York

The Red Power Ranger float makes its way down 6th Ave during the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade

Popular: Some 3.5million people came out to watch the parade in person, with 50million watching from home

Fanfare: Members of the Bahama All Stars marching band perform during the Macy's Parade

It takes a village: Each balloon calls for 50 to 100 volunteer handlers to conduct it down the parade route

Something for everyone: There are 16 balloons and 27 floats, as well as 33 smaller balloons, 1,300 cheerleaders and dancers, 1,000 clowns and 12 marching bands

Children and adults alike flocked to the parade route to take in the balloons, floats and performers

The hashtag #StopTheParade set social media on fire on Wednesday night, after thousands took over the streets of Manhattan and Brooklyn on Tuesday in response to the conclusion of the Ferguson case.

Those protests - in which 10 of an estimated 3,000 were arrested - had inspired a plan to use the spotlight surrounding the parade to push what they say is injustice.

A notice posted to Facebook read: 'We do not accept state violence or genocide as cause for celebration. When the masses gather for the Thanksgiving Day Parade, we will gather to remind the public that BLACK LIVES MATTER.

'We will meet on the steps of the Public Library bright and early to plan exact flash mob location and make our signs. Please bring cardboard/posterboard small enough to hide on your person and markers.'

Drumming up support: This post was circulating Facebook Wednesday night, urging people to join a flash mob that will hit the the 88th Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade

Time and place: The group are set to meet at the New York Public Library at 7am to plan the protest, so as not to telegraph their plans online

#StopTheParade: Twitter was alight with people supporting the push against the Thanksgiving Day Parade

Plan: A map of the parade and of a plan of how to disrupt it was being spread on Twitter

On the eve of the parade, thousands of people marched through the streets of New York and congregated in small groups in Union Square to discuss their plans for the parade.

'With this hands-off approach (by police), it gives (protesters) free rein to do anything they want,' a law enforcement source told The Post.

'It’s a free pass to act like a fool.'

One group marched to Times Square, with police officers on their heels keeping tabs on the situation while avoiding confrontations.

The protesters disrupted traffic on the FDR Drive and gathered at the entrances to the Williamsburg and Manhattan bridges, as well as the Queens Midtown Tunnel.

Commissioner Bratton said that his officers were giving demonstrators 'breathing room' to air their grievances. .