Police in riot gear stormed Columbia University and arrested pro-Palestinian protesters occupying one of its buildings.
About 30 to 40 people were evacuated from the university’s Hamilton Hall, police said.
The invasion occurred hours later New York City Mayor Eric Adams said the demonstration at the Ivy League school “must end.”
He also claimed that the demonstration was infiltrated by “outside professional agitators”.
University bosses said they called the New York Police Department (NYPD) after protesters “chose to escalate the situation through their actions.”
“After the university learned overnight that Hamilton Hall had been occupied, vandalized and locked down, we had no choice,” a university spokesperson said in a statement.
Police enter Hamilton Hall. Photo: Reuters
Police gather around Columbia University before moving in to disperse the protest. Photo: Reuters
Police stand guard near a protest camp at Columbia University. Photo: Reuters
Arrested Columbia University protesters are loaded onto a bus. Photo: Reuters
“The decision to contact the NYPD was in response to the protesters’ actions, not the cause they champion.
“We have made it clear that campus life cannot be disrupted indefinitely by protesters who violate the rules and the law.”
The protest began when students barricaded the entrance to Hamilton Hall on the Manhattan campus on Tuesday and raised a Palestinian flag out the window.
Video footage showed protesters crossing their arms in front of the hall and carrying furniture and metal barricades into the building.
Those behind the protest said they renamed the building “Hind’s Hall” in honor of Back rajaba six-year-old girl killed in an attack in Gaza in February.
Protesters unfurled a flag with the words ‘Hind’s Hall’. Photo: Reuters
Protesters hang banners outside the Hamilton Hall building. Photo: Reuters
Protesters said they planned to remain in the hall until the university gave in to Columbia University Apartheid Divest’s (CUAD) three demands: divestment, financial transparency and amnesty.
However, officers moved onto campus on Tuesday night after university bosses wrote to New York City authorities and the NYPD formally asking for help.
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A large group of police officers dressed in riot gear entered the campus on Tuesday night. Police officers were also seen entering the window of a university building using a police-branded cherry picker vehicle.
Earlier, Mayor Adams asked protesters to leave the scene. “Remove yourself from this situation now and continue your advocacy through other means,” he said.
Columbia University also threatened academic expulsions for students involved in the demonstration.
Protesters block the entrance to Hamilton Hall at Columbia University. Photo: AP
Protesters block the entrance to Hamilton Hall. Photo: AP
Protests in Columbia earlier this month sparked demonstrations that spread to college campuses from California to Massachusetts.
Dozens of people were arrested on Monday during protests at universities in Texas, Utah, Virginia and New Jersey.
Police moved to clear a camp at Yale University in Connecticut on Tuesday morning, but there were no immediate reports of arrests.
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Meanwhile, the president of the University of Southern California issued a statement Tuesday after a swastika was drawn on campus.
“I condemn any anti-Semitic symbols or any form of hate speech against anyone,” said Carol Folt.
“It is clear that it was designed there only to incite even more anger at a time that is so painful for our community. We will work to get to the bottom of this issue immediately, and it has just been removed.”
Previously, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said President Joe Biden believed the student occupation of buildings was “absolutely the wrong approach” and “is not an example of peaceful protest.”
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