New York City police made nearly 300 arrests in overnight raids on Columbia University and City College of New York, taking into custody both students and “outside agitators” who had infiltrated the anti-Israel student protests.
Officers arrested 173 people at City College and 119 at Columbia on charges ranging from trespassing to criminal mischief to burglary after the universities reached out to the New York Police Department for help with the protests that had taken over the campuses.
The police also cleared the “Gaza Solidarity Encampment” on Columbia’s West Lawn and retook Hamilton Hall from protesters who broke in and barricaded the building the day before. No injuries were reported, according to police and city officials at a Wednesday press briefing.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams said that “outside agitators” and “external actors” unaffiliated with the university “hijacked peaceful protest and influenced students to escalate,” turning “a peaceful protest into a place where antisemitism and anti-Israel attitudes were pervasive.”
“There’s nothing peaceful about barricading buildings, destroying property and dismantling security cameras,” Mr. Adams said. “We cannot allow lawful protest to turn into a violent spectacle that serves no purpose.”
Footage broadcast on cable news showed helmet-clad police moving in behind riot shields at Columbia Tuesday night, carrying zip ties.
SEE ALSO: Protest at UCLA becomes violent; police in riot gear separate groups
“We regret that protesters have chosen to escalate the situation through their actions. After the University learned overnight that Hamilton Hall had been occupied, vandalized, and blockaded, we were left with no choice,” said the post on the Columbia website.
Columbia shut down its main Morningside campus early Tuesday after dozens of protesters barricaded themselves overnight into Hamilton Hall, refusing to leave unless the university divests from Israel, which President Minouche Shafik has refused to do.
During the occupation, “Columbia public safety personnel were forced out of the building, and a member of our facilities team was threatened,” the spokesperson said.
“We will not risk the safety of our community or the potential for further escalation,” said the statement.
Ms. Shafik had ruled out bringing back officers after they made more than 100 arrests in an April 18 raid on the anti-Israel encampment covering the West Lawn, but the tent city was soon back and bigger than ever.
Columbia began suspending Monday the students remaining in the encampment, which apparently prompted some of those affiliated with Columbia University Apartheid Divest to break into Hamilton Hall, hanging a pro-Palestinian banner above the entrance.
“Walk away from this situation now and continue your advocacy through other means,” New York City Mayor Eric Adams advised the Columbia protesters on Tuesday afternoon. “This must end now.”
Not all the protesters who broke into Hamilton Hall are students, said the university.
“We believe that the group that broke into and occupied the building is led by individuals who are not affiliated with the University,” said the spokesperson. “Sadly, this dangerous decision followed more than a week of what had been productive discussions with representatives of the West Lawn encampment.”
NYPD riot police entering Columbia Hamas University now pic.twitter.com/6iRVrwXHLm
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) May 1, 2024
Universities nationwide have turned to law enforcement to clear out pro-Palestinian encampments and clamp down on unauthorized protests as graduation nears.
After a couple of hours of scuffles between pro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli demonstrators at the University of California, Los Angeles, police wearing helmets and face shields formed lines and slowly separated the groups. That appeared to quell the violence.
Police have swept through campuses across the U.S. over the last two weeks in response to protests calling on universities to stop doing business with Israel or companies that support the war in Gaza. There have been confrontations and more than 1,000 arrests. In rarer instances, university officials and protest leaders struck agreements to restrict the disruption to campus life and upcoming commencement ceremonies.
The clashes at UCLA took place around a tent encampment built by pro-Palestinian protesters, who erected barricades and plywood for protection — while counterprotesters tried to pull them down. People threw chairs and at one point a group piled on a person who lay on the ground, kicking and beating them with sticks until others pulled them out of the scrum.
It was not clear how many people might be injured.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass called the violence “absolutely abhorrent and inexcusable” in a spot on social media platform X and said officers from the Los Angeles Police Department were on the scene. Officers from the California Highway Patrol also appeared to be there. The university said it had requested help.
Security was tightened Tuesday at the campus after officials said there were “physical altercations” between factions of protesters.
At least one college, the University of Southern California, has already canceled commencement over concerns about protest violence.
Police have arrested at least 1,000 protesters in the last two weeks on university campuses in states including Texas, Utah, Virginia, North Carolina, New Mexico, Connecticut, Louisiana, California and New Jersey.
Columbia said that protesters forced the university’s hand after “vandalizing property, breaking doors and windows, blockading entrances, and forcing our facilities and public safety workers out.”
“The decision to reach out to the NYPD was in response to the actions of the protesters, not the cause they are championing,” said the spokesperson. “We have made it clear that the life of campus cannot be endlessly interrupted by protesters who violate the rules and the law.”
• This story is based in part on wire service reports.
• Valerie Richardson can be reached at vrichardson@washingtontimes.com.
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