Dozens of pro-Palestinian protesters stormed a library at Columbia College and refused to go away for hours, college officers mentioned, staying put till the NYPD was known as to take away the demonstrators.
The protest at Butler Library started round 4 p.m. and was remoted to a studying room within the library, in keeping with the college. About 60-100 protesters entered the constructing at the moment, lots of whom had been carrying facemasks.
Protesters hung Palestinian flags and different banners on bookshelves in an ornate studying room. Some protesters additionally appeared to have scrawled “Columbia will burn” throughout framed photos.
Columbia’s Public Security Crew requested these within the library for identification and to disperse, saying protesters who fail to conform would face violations of campus guidelines and doable arrest, in keeping with a college spokesperson. Not one of the protesters selected to go away at the moment.
“While this is isolated to one room in the library, it is completely unacceptable that some individuals are choosing to disrupt academic activities as our students are studying and preparing for final exams. These disruptions of our campus and academic activities will not be tolerated,” the college spokesperson mentioned.
Earlier within the afternoon, the group that organized the protest mentioned it had occupied a part of Butler Library as a result of it believed the college profited from “imperialist violence.”
“Repression breeds resistance — if Columbia escalates repression, the people will continue to escalate disruptions on this campus,” the Columbia College Apartheid Divest group wrote on-line.
As campus officers targeted on getting the protesters inside to go away, there was a contingent of protesters loudly chanting outdoors the library’s doorways as nicely. Columbia College’s Performing President Claire Shipman mentioned two public security officers had been injured when a crowd surged to power their manner into the constructing.
Among the demonstrators did go away on their very own, however by 7 p.m., there was nonetheless an unknown quantity nonetheless inside. It was at that time that Shipman mentioned the college requested NYPD to help in securing the constructing.
“Requesting the presence of the NYPD is not the outcome we wanted, but it was absolutely necessary to secure the safety of our community,” mentioned Shipman.
A short while later, NYPD officers in helmets might be seen getting into the library and taking various people out in with their palms in zipties. It was not instantly clear what number of protesters had been taken into custody or would face fees, however greater than 70 had been led out by police.
“Columbia strongly condemns violence on our campus, antisemitism and all forms of hate and discrimination, some of which we witnessed today. We are resolute that calls for violence or harm have no place at our University,” the assertion from Shipman learn.
Mayor Eric Adams informed NBC New York the conduct of the protesters within the library was “unacceptable.”
New York Mayor Eric Adams joined Information 4 to speak concerning the protests at Columbia College and likewise crime within the metropolis and up to date high-profile circumstances.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul additionally denounced the protesters. “Everyone has the right to peacefully protest,” the Democrat wrote on X. “But violence, vandalism or destruction of property are completely unacceptable.”
Columbia mentioned it will be limiting on-campus entry on Thursday, with visitor entry suspended for college students and non-faculty employees. Alumni entry can also be suspended.
In March, the college introduced sweeping coverage modifications associated to protests following Trump administration threats to revoke its federal funding.
Amongst them are a ban on college students carrying masks to hide their identities and a rule that these protesting on campus should current their identification when requested. The college additionally mentioned it had employed new public security officers empowered to make arrests on campus.
The Related Press contributed to this report.
