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Columbia University calls in police to clear pro-Palestinian protesters Dozens of pro-Palestinian protesters arrested after Columbia calls in police
(about 1 hour later)
University’s president says activists refused to leave library despite warnings of disciplinary action and arrest NYPD officers entered campus’s main library building in riot gear after activists occupied area in hours-long standoff
Columbia University asked the New York police department to help clear pro-Palestinian activists after dozens of protesters occupied parts of the main campus library on Wednesday. The New York police department on Wednesday arrested dozens of pro-Palestinian activists who occupied part of the main library building on Columbia University’s campus on Wednesday evening, ending an hours-long standoff nearly a year after student anti-war protest swept the Ivy League school.
Claire Shipman, the university’s acting president, said in a statement that protesters had refused to leave the building despite being warned that a failure to comply would result in disciplinary action and possibly arrest for trespassing. Claire Shipman, the university’s acting president, said in a statement that she requested officers with the NYPD to help clear the building, after protesters had refused to leave despite being warned that a failure to comply would result in disciplinary action and possibly arrest for trespassing. A spokesperson for the NYPD said officers arrested “multiple individuals” who refused to disperse.
“Due to the number of individuals participating in the disruption inside and outside of the building, a large group of people attempting to force their way into Butler Library creating a safety hazard, and what we believe to be the significant presence of individuals not affiliated with the University, Columbia has taken the necessary step of requesting the presence of NYPD to assist in securing the building and the safety of our community,” Shipman said in the statement. Video posted online by the student activist group Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD) showed NYPD officers in riot gear entering the Butler library reading room, as protesters locked arms and chanted: “We have nothing to lose but our chains!”
“Sadly, during the course of this disruption, two of our Columbia Public Safety Officers sustained injuries during a crowd surge when individuals attempted to force their way into the building and into Room 301. These actions are outrageous,” she wrote. On Wednesday afternoon, masked protesters, many wearing the black-and-white checkered keffiyeh that has long been a symbol of Palestinian liberation, took over the main room on the second floor of Columbia’s Butler library, according to images shared on social media by CUAD.
In an interview with a local NBC affiliate on Wednesday evening, the New York mayor Eric Adams said the police department was “on its way” to the campus. Renaming the space “the Basel Al-Araj Popular University”, some activists stood on desks with bullhorns, while others hung a sign that read “strike for Gaza” and distributed pamphlets calling on the university to “divest” from funds and businesses that activists say are profiting from Israel’s invasion of Gaza.
“We are in engagement with the college. They have asked for our help, and the NYPD is en route,” Adams said, calling the protest “unacceptable”. “We will not be useless intellectuals,” protesters said in a statement shared online. “Palestine is our compass, and we stand strong in the face of violent oppression.”
The university first sent in campus public safety officers, who warned the activists that they would face disciplinary action and possibly arrest if they refused to leave. The protesters said they refused to show their IDs and described a physical confrontation between them and the security officers. The university said two public safety officers were injured, while protesters reported being “kettled” and locked inside.
“Requesting the presence of the NYPD is not the outcome we wanted, but it was absolutely necessary to secure the safety of our community,” Shipman said in a statement, calling the protester’s actions “outrageous”.
At 6pm EST, students received an alert saying the library was closed and the area “must be cleared”.At 6pm EST, students received an alert saying the library was closed and the area “must be cleared”.
In an interview with a local NBC affiliate on Wednesday evening, the New York mayor Eric Adams called the protest “unacceptable”. In a later statement, the mayor said he had received a “written request” from the university for police backup.
The New York governor Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, said she had been briefed on the situation and was “grateful to public safety officials for keeping students safe”.The New York governor Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, said she had been briefed on the situation and was “grateful to public safety officials for keeping students safe”.
I have been briefed on the situation at Columbia University tonight and am grateful to public safety officials for keeping students safe.Everyone has the right to peacefully protest. But violence, vandalism or destruction of property are completely unacceptable.
“Everyone has the right to peacefully protest. But violence, vandalism or destruction of property are completely unacceptable,” she said in a statement.“Everyone has the right to peacefully protest. But violence, vandalism or destruction of property are completely unacceptable,” she said in a statement.
Images shared on social media by the campus protest movement Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD) showed masked protesters, many wearing the keffiyeh, a black and white scarf that has long been a symbol of Palestinian liberation, flooding a room inside Butler library.
Some stood on desks with bullhorns, while others unfurled a sign that read “strike for Gaza” and distributed pamphlets calling on the university to “divest” from funds and businesses that activists say are profiting from Israel’s invasion of Gaza. They also held up a “Free Mahmoud Khalil” banner with an image of the recent Columbia graduate and Palestinian activist who has been held in Ice custody since his arrest in March.
In a statement posted on X, protesters confirmed that they had refused to show their IDs and that some had sustained injuries in the skirmish with the public safety officers.
“We will not be useless intellectuals,” protesters said in a statement. “Palestine is our compass, and we stand strong in the face of violent oppression.”
The standoff comes at a fragile moment for the university, as it faces a crackdown by the Trump administration over its response to student protests against the war in Gaza last spring. The administration has accused the university of failing to protect Jewish students from antisemitism on campus and canceled $400m in federal research funding from the school.The standoff comes at a fragile moment for the university, as it faces a crackdown by the Trump administration over its response to student protests against the war in Gaza last spring. The administration has accused the university of failing to protect Jewish students from antisemitism on campus and canceled $400m in federal research funding from the school.
On Tuesday, the university announced a round of layoffs as a result of the cuts. University officials said they were working with the Trump administration in the hopes of getting the funding restored.On Tuesday, the university announced a round of layoffs as a result of the cuts. University officials said they were working with the Trump administration in the hopes of getting the funding restored.
Last spring, protesters set up an encampment and seized Hamilton Hall, a campus building, which led to dozens of arrests and inspired similar demonstrations at universities across the country.Last spring, protesters set up an encampment and seized Hamilton Hall, a campus building, which led to dozens of arrests and inspired similar demonstrations at universities across the country.
Since then, the university has undergone a series of leadership changes. In March, the interim president of Columbia stepped down after agreeing to nearly all of the Trump administration’s sweeping demands – a decision that outraged faculty and critics who said the university had sacrificed its independence and academic freedom.Since then, the university has undergone a series of leadership changes. In March, the interim president of Columbia stepped down after agreeing to nearly all of the Trump administration’s sweeping demands – a decision that outraged faculty and critics who said the university had sacrificed its independence and academic freedom.