The arrests, on the crowded sidewalks of Midtown Manhattan, rattled migrants residing at a hotel and shook the theater district, which is heavily trafficked by tourists.
The inquiry is focused on $10 million that the charity received last year, then gave to political committees that helped Gov. Ron DeSantis defeat a ballot measure.
The annual pop-up sale of retired signs and other transit artifacts from the New York City subway system attracted a line of collectors that stretched for blocks.