Dozens arrested as fans go berserk after Knicks’ historic comeback in NBA Finals
New York Knicks fans run from fireworks in Times Square during Game 4 of the NBA Finals between New York Knicks and San Antonio Spurs, on June 10, 2026 in New York City. (Adam Gray/Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — The New York Knicks’ historic comeback against the San Antonio Spurs in Game 4 of the NBA Finals on Wednesday ignited celebration as well as chaos outside Madison Square Garden as some fans went berserk, prompting dozens of arrests.
Rowdy fans got into fistfights, climbed scaffolding, blocked Midtown Manhattan traffic, set off fireworks and smoke bombs, ripped down street signs, climbed poles, jumped atop taxis and other moving vehicles, and damaged police vehicles, according to authorities and videos of the mayhem posted on social media.
And the Knicks haven’t even won the championship — yet. The team leads the best-of-seven series 3 games to 1, and can close it out in San Antonio on Saturday night.
But one fan hoisted themselves up in a bucket lift in Midtown Manhattan on Wednesday night to encourage the fans to party like it’s 1973, the last time the Knicks won an NBA championship.
Another fan climbed on top of a big-rig truck stuck in a traffic jam, while a group of fans was caught on video stomping on a Citi Bike.
Ten police officers were injured in the post-game revelry, including one who was struck in the face with a glass bottle, the New York Police Department said.
Some Knicks fans even showed up at the hotel where the Spurs were staying and threw eggs at San Antonio’s 7-foot-4 star Victor Wembanyama, according to online videos.
The wild scenes played out after the Knicks overcame a 29-point deficit to win the game. The biggest comeback in NBA Finals history was capped by a high-flying tip-in shot by Knicks’ forward OG Anunoby with 1.2 seconds left in the game.
A fan watch party initially planned for Wednesday outside Madison Square Garden was canceled at the last minute by Garden officials in a dispute over the crowd being limited to 1,000 people and the strict rules enacted by police and city officials on spectator behavior.
“The NYPD wants New Yorkers to be able to enjoy these celebrations, but our primary responsibility is to ensure that everyone can do so safely,” the NYPD said in a statement on Thursday morning. “Once again, there were large crowds of people who engaged in incredibly reckless and dangerous behavior last night both during and after the game. This demonstrates exactly why the NYPD has increased our presence in and around Madison Square Garden.”
At multiple locations blocks from the Garden, crowds refused numerous verbal commands to disperse, police said. In total, there were 56 people taken into custody, including 15 who were arrested and 41 who were released with criminal court summonses, according to the NYPD.
Fans were arrested on suspicion of assault on a police officer, criminal possession of a weapon (a knife), reckless endangerment, criminal mischief, disorderly conduct, resisting arrest, obstruction of governmental administration, and trademark counterfeiting, the NYPD said.
But the lockdown of streets adjacent to the Garden didn’t stop Knicks fans from trying to get as close as they could to the arena.
During the Wednesday’s game, thousands of unruly fans began gathering at various places north of Madison Square Garden. As the game progressed, the crowds became increasingly destructive, some jumping atop moving vehicles in the area.
At one point, about a dozen people, most wearing Knicks jerseys, jumped on top of a cab stuck in traffic and stomped on and busted the front windshield, while several revelers took turns using belts to whip the hood of the taxi, according to bystander video.
“We haven’t seen a miracle like this since the birth of Jesus,” a fan yelled into a camera.
Law enforcement respond near Temple Israel following reports of an active shooter on March 12, 2026 in West Bloomfield, Michigan. Police continue to investigate as emergency personnel remained on the scene. (Photo by Emily Elconin/Getty Images)
(WEST BLOOMFIELD, Mich.) — Dearborn Heights Mayor Mo Baydoun said that 41-year-old Ayman Mohamad Ghazali — the suspect involved in the shooting and vehicle-ramming attack at a Detroit-area synagogue on Thursday — had “lost several members of his own family … in an Israeli attack on their home in Lebanon.”
Strongly condemning the attack, Baydoun said “everyone deserves to worship in peace and we must unequivocally condemn any attack on a house of worship or the people within it.”
“We learned that the individual responsible for the incident that took place at Temple Israel Synagogue in West Bloomfield was a resident of Dearborn Heights,” Baydoun continued. “He died at the scene. Earlier this month, he lost several members of his own family, including his niece and nephew, in an Israeli attack on their home in Lebanon.”
Michigan Senator Elissa Slotkin also vehemently condemned the attack, saying she is “so sick” of these incidents happening both within her community and across the country.
“Everyone deserves the right to worship in peace. Everyone. An act of antisemitism, an act of violence, of hate, should be treated to the fullest extent of the law,” Slotkin told ABC News on Thursday. “And I’m so sick of another one of these incidents all the time in my community, across the country. And I just — I think we need to acknowledge that we have a problem, and I’m just sick about it.”
Ghazali, who was armed with a rifle, died after a shootout with security at the Temple Israel synagogue in West Bloomfield, Michigan, a senior federal law enforcement official briefed on the investigation said earlier.
Nobody inside the synagogue was hurt, and the synagogue noted that all 140 students as well as staff, teachers and “heroic security personnel” were accounted for, according to Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard.
“This tragedy comes at a time when communities everywhere are confronting rising hate and senseless violence. No matter where violence occurs, whether in West Bloomfield or anywhere around in the world, harm against innocent people is something we must all stand firmly against,” Baydoun said. “The tensions we see across the world too often find their way into our own neighborhoods, reminding us how deeply connected our shared safety is.”
The sheriff said one synagogue security guard was hit by the suspect’s truck in the incident and was “knocked unconscious” but was expected to be okay.
There were no other injuries in the attack, though 30 law enforcement officers were transported to the hospital for treatment of smoke inhalation, according to Bouchard.
“I want our community to know that we are working closely with our police department and regional partners to protect the safety of every house of worship in our city,” said Baydoun. “I urge residents to stay aware and vigilant, especially as we gather during these sacred final days of Ramadan. Let’s continue to care for one another and pay attention to anything that feels out of place … “My heart is with everyone affected by these deeply painful events.”
Microsoft Co-Founder Bill Gates stops to speak to the media as he arrives to testify at a closed-door interview with the House Oversight Committee on Capitol Hill on June 10, 2026 in Washington, DC.. (Photo by Tom Brenner/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates told the House Oversight Committee probing the government’s investigation of Jeffrey Epstein that Gates “never victimized anyone” and that meeting with Epstein “was a grave error in judgment,” according to his prepared opening remarks.
Gates is facing questions Wednesday about his relationship with the late financier, marking one of the most high-profile interviews conducted by the Oversight Committee since it began probing the government’s handling of its investigations into the notorious sex offender.
“I never witnessed nor had any indication that Epstein was engaged in ongoing criminal conduct. I never went to his island, his ranch, or his Florida home. I have never victimized anyone,” Gates testified in his closed-door appearance, according to a copy of his prepared opening statement.
Gates said that Epstein sought to “foster a personal relationship” with him, but said his focus remained on using Epstein to recruit new donors for Gates’ global health initiative.
“My interactions with Epstein began with a limited number of preliminary meetings — three in 2011 and two in 2012 — during which I talked about the goals of my work,” Gates said, according to his statement. “We began more extensive conversations in 2013 and 2014. The discussions focused on identifying potential giving structures, such as donor-advised funds, and how to enroll individuals he claimed were interested in making significant contributions.”
Gates said he can “recall being aware that Epstein had faced prior legal issues” but added he “did not fully understand the extent of the crimes he committed,” per the statement.
He also told the committee that he Epstein learned “sensitive information about my personal life” — including that he had been unfaithful in his marriage to Melinda Gates.
“These affairs had nothing to do with my interactions with Epstein, but they were painful for my family,” Gates said, according to the statement. “As the public can now see, based on what has been released in the files, Epstein was working to use information about my infidelities — in addition to many lies that he layered on top — to pressure me to re-engage with him. He was unsuccessful in this effort, but it shows some of the ways he tried to leverage his interactions with me to further his agenda.”
In brief remarks to reporters on his way in Wednesday morning, Gates said, “I’ll start with an opening statement in the hearing room. I hope my testimony is helpful to the work, important work of the committee to find justice for the victims.”
Gates’ association with the late financier has roiled his nonprofit and reshaped the public perception of the tech billionaire who was once the world’s richest man.
“I was foolish to spend time with him. I was one of many people who regret ever knowing him,” Gates said in February.
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) first reached out to Gates in March to schedule the behind-closed-doors interview, writing in a letter that the tech billionaire might “have information that will assist in its investigation.” In recent weeks, the Committee has conducted similar transcribed interviews with former Attorney General Pam Bondi, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, and Epstein’s longtime executive secretary Lesley Groff.
“Gates welcomes the opportunity to appear before the Committee,” a spokesperson for Gates said in March. “While he never witnessed or participated in any of Epstein’s illegal conduct, he is looking forward to answering all the committee’s questions to support their important work.”
Gates’ relationship with Epstein faced a new wave of scrutiny earlier this year when the Department of Justice’s release of Epstein files included correspondence between the two men, as well as cryptic notes drafted by Epstein that hinted at Gates’ extramarital affairs.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Gates apologized to the staff of his nonprofit during a town hall in February and acknowledged that he had affairs with two Russian women that Epstein later discovered. A spokesperson for Gates in a 2023 statement said that Epstein “tried unsuccessfully to leverage a past relationship to threaten Mr. Gates.”
“In the town hall, Bill spoke candidly, addressing several questions in detail, and took responsibility for his actions,” a spokesperson for the Gates Foundation told ABC News.
Melinda French Gates — who previously said her 2021 divorce from Bill Gates was driven in part by his association with Epstein — said earlier this year that the documents brought back memories of “some very, very painful times” in their marriage.
“Whatever questions remain there … those questions are for those people, and for even my ex-husband,” she said on NPR’s Wild Card podcast about what she described as a societal “reckoning” over the Epstein files. “They need to answer to those things, not me.”
Members of the Oversight Committee have expressed a desire to learn whether Epstein used his sex trafficking network to lure in wealthy and influential men to blackmail — allegations that the DOJ and FBI said they found “no credible evidence” of last year.
Neither of the women who Gates acknowledged having affairs with — a Russian bridge player and nuclear physicist — were said to have been introduced to Gates by Epstein, though a spokesperson later said that Epstein sought to “leverage” his knowledge of one of his past relationships to “threaten” Gates.
The interview is also likely to touch on how Epstein was able to ingratiate himself with Gates just three years after pleading guilty to charges of soliciting a minor for prostitution. Gates has previously said he was aware of an “18-month thing” that limited Epstein’s travel, and he regrets not further investigating Epstein’s background.
According to documents released earlier this year by the Department of Justice, Gates first met Epstein in 2011.
“I won’t have time to do another meeting and I won’t be able to do the dinner with Jeff Epstein,” Gates wrote in a 2010 email to Boris Nikolic, his former science advisor. “I was looking forward to the dinner.”
Gates later said he hoped he could leverage Epstein’s relationships with “very rich people” to support his global health philanthropic efforts.
“The focus was always: he knew a lot of very rich people, and he was saying he could get them to give money to global health. In retrospect, that was a dead end,” Gates told 9News Australia in February.
According to documents released by the DOJ, both men continued to communicate for at least three years, with Epstein at one point urging Gates to use a specific philanthropic vehicle known as a “donor advised fund” to make charitable contributions. At the time, Epstein compared donor advised funds to “cloud computing for the giving world.”
“It is a good analogy,” Gates wrote in a February 2014 email. “It is clearer to me now than before and it could be a great thing.”
But by December 2014, Gates appeared to cool on Epstein’s proposal, suggesting in an email that the plan was not viable for him.
“In terms of the DAF I don’t think we have any people at this point who will move to do something soon,” Gates wrote. “It is a good idea, but it won’t come together with 4-6 partners anytime soon.”
In a statement earlier this year, the Gates Foundation said it did not move forward with Epstein’s fund and never transferred any funds to the disgraced financier.
“On the basis of Epstein’s claims that he could mobilize significant philanthropic resources for global health and development, a small number of foundation employees interacted with Epstein to try to secure this potential funding. Ultimately, the foundation did not pursue any collaboration with Epstein and no fund was ever created,” a spokesperson for the Gates Foundation said in February.
By March, the Gates Foundation commissioned an external review to assess its past engagement with Epstein as well as its policies for vetting philanthropic partnerships. Foundation officials said in a statement they expected to get an update about that review later this summer.
Ed Martin, former Interim U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, departs following a meeting at the White House on January 9, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Al Drago/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — The Washington, D.C., Bar has initiated disciplinary proceedings against Justice Department pardon attorney Ed Martin over allegations he improperly threatened to withhold federal funding from Georgetown University’s law school and then attempted to sideline an investigation into his conduct, according to a petition.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
