Protesters Crash 'Julius Caesar' Finale, Get Arrested

CENTRAL PARK, NY — The Public Theater's polarizing and controversial Shakespeare in the Park production of "Julius Caesar" ended its run Sunday night with a little added drama.

Two nights after right-wing media commentators disrupted the production, two men rushed the stage and had to be escorted out of the theater by security. The two men — Salvatore Cipolla, 28, of Long Beach Road in Oceanside, and Jovanni Vale, 26, of East 92nd Street in Brooklyn — were arrested by the NYPD and charged with criminal trespassing. Vale was also charged with disorderly conduct.

"Goebbels would be proud," one of the men shouted — alluding to Nazi propagandist Joseph Goebbels — as he stormed the stage of Central Park's Delacorte Theater.

Sunday's disruptions were the second time the security was forced to removed protesters from the theater. On Friday night a woman rushed the stage and screamed, "Stop the normalization of political violence against the right," the New York Times reported. The woman was later identified as Laura Loomer of the right-wing publication.

Shortly after Loomer was escorted out of the theater right-wing author Jack Posobiec began screaming from the stands, according to a video he posted on Twitter with the caption: "Julius Ceasar Gets SHUTDOWN."

During both productions the actors resumed the play shortly after the protesters were removed from the stage.

The Public Theater's drew the ire of the right wing due to "Julius Caesar's" director Oskar Eustis' decision to adapt the play into a reflection on modern politics in which Caesar trades in his toga for a boxy suit and extra-long tie. While Trump is never mentioned by name, the actor portraying Caesar wears slicked-back strawberry blond hair and seems to draw inspiration from the 45th U.S. president.

Caesar is assassinated in the play.

The Public Theater released a statement calling the stage crashers "paid protesters."

"Earlier this evening, a pair of paid protestors briefly disrupted our performance of JULIUS CAESAR, as anticipated. While we are champions of the first amendment, this interruption unfortunately was part of a paid strategy driven by social media. Thank you to our staff and security who worked to peacefully remove them from the theater so we could continue with our evening of Free Shakespeare in the Park," the theater said in a statement on Twitter.

Photo by Verena Dobnik/Associated Press