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Two Protesters Disrupt ‘Julius Caesar’ in Central Park

People arrived for Shakespeare in the Park’s production of “Julius Caesar” at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park on Monday.Credit...Bryan R. Smith/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

A production of “Julius Caesar” in Central Park was disrupted on Friday evening by two protesters who objected to the bloody scene in which the title character, played by an actor costumed and styled to resemble President Trump, is knifed to death.

A woman who later identified herself on social media as Laura Loomer jumped onto the stage just after the assassination of Caesar and began shouting, “Stop the normalization of political violence against the right,” and, “This is violence against Donald Trump.” Ms. Loomer describes herself as a “a right-wing investigative journalist and activist” who has previously worked with James O’Keefe, the conservative activist known for selectively edited undercover video investigations.

Ms. Loomer’s interruption of the scene was being recorded by a man in the audience who began shouting, “You are all Goebbels,” a reference to the Hitler aide and Nazi propagandist Joseph Goebbels. On social media, Jack Posobiec, an activist who supports President Trump and has been associated with conspiracy theories, identified himself as Ms. Loomer’s collaborator.

The show was paused briefly, with the actors still on stage, as security officers removed the two protesters from the Delacorte Theater, the 1,800-seat outdoor amphitheater in which Shakespeare in the Park is staged. The audience tried to shout down the protesters, and applauded as they were removed.

The show then resumed as a stage manager announced, “Pick up at ‘liberty and freedom,’” referring to the lines in the play that came next.

“Two protesters disrupted our show tonight; we stopped the show for less than a minute and our stage manager handled it beautifully,” Oskar Eustis, the artistic director of the Public Theater and the director of the “Julius Caesar” production, said in a statement. “The staff removed the protesters peacefully, and the show resumed with the line ‘Liberty! Freedom!’ The audience rose to their feet to thank the actors, and we joyfully continued. Free speech for all, but let’s not stop the show.”

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Elizabeth Marvel as Antony, left, Tina Benko as Calpurnia and Gregg Henry as Caesar in a preview of “Julius Caesar” at Delacorte Theater in Central Park last month.Credit...Sara Krulwich/The New York Times

Ms. Loomer, 24, continued to shout from outside the theater after she was removed, and declined requests by the police to step away from the structure; she was then arrested. The New York Police Department said she was charged with criminal trespass and disorderly conduct and was released.

Ms. Loomer, who outside the theater had shouted, “You guys are just as bad as ISIS” and, “Because of liberal violence like this, a congressman this week was shot in Virginia,” posted a video of her own behavior on Twitter.

The assassination of Caesar is part of the script of the play, which was written 418 years ago by William Shakespeare; the choice to depict the title character as akin to President Trump is part of a long history of productions of the play that have used the text to explore contemporary politics. In 2012, another American production of “Julius Caesar” depicted the title character as President Barack Obama.

The decision by the Public Theater, which oversees Shakespeare in the Park, to depict Caesar as Mr. Trump has prompted social media protests from conservatives, and two corporate sponsors of the theater program, Delta Air Lines and Bank of America, withdrew their support. A third sponsor, American Express, as well as the National Endowment for the Arts, took steps to make sure the public knew they had not supported the production.

Defenders of the Public Theater, saying the play does not sanction political violence but is instead a cautionary tale about the use of antidemocratic means to defend a democracy, have said the critics are misconstruing the play and this production.

Two critics of the production demonstrated outside the Delacorte on Friday night, while a slightly larger group of defenders held a counter-demonstration.

On Thursday, defenders of the production held a rally at Astor Place.

Friday night was the first time the play, which began performances May 23 and ends on Sunday, had been disrupted by protesters.

Michael Cooper and Scott Heller contributed reporting.

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