New York police in riot gear raided Columbia University on Tuesday evening and started making arrests after pro-Palestinian protesters barricaded themselves in campus buildings.
Columbia has been a flashpoint in campus battles over pro-Palestinian protests in recent weeks, and the heavy police presence represents a significant escalation in the university’s response.
Police entered campus around 9pm local time and ordered protesters and journalists to disperse and leave the grounds near Hamilton Hall, where protesters had barricaded themselves, according to CNN.
Columbia has begun suspending students who refused to leave an encampment on campus and has threatened students who occupied Hamilton Hall with expulsion.
Meanwhile, the Police have taken protesters into custody and loading them onto buses, according to multiple media outlets. The NYPD did not immediately respond to Axios’ request for details.
Though there were reports of tear gas used against protesters as the NYPD entered Hamilton Hall, Carlos Nieve, the NYPD Assistant Commissioner of Public Information denied it. “The NYPD does not use tear gas,” he told reporters gathered outside the campus.
Some Columbia faculty condemned the heavy police presence, saying their attempts to intervene to defuse the situation were rebuffed by campus administration.
- Columbia said in an update that the NYPD arrived on campus at the university’s request just after 9pm ET.
“The events on campus last night have left us no choice,” university President Minouche Shafik wrote in a letter to NYPD obtained by Axios. “With the support of the University’s Trustees, I have determined that the building occupation, the encampments, and related disruptions pose a clear and present danger … and require the use of emergency authority to protect persons and property.”
Shafik also requested that police retain a presence on campus through May 17, which is two days after the university’s scheduled commencement.
“We regret that protesters have chosen to escalate the situation through their actions,” a separate statement from the university said. “We will not risk the safety of our community or the potential for further escalation.”
New York Mayor Eric Adams blamed “external actors” for co-opting “what should have been a peaceful protest,” at Columbia prior to the NYPD arriving on campus.
Pro-Palestinian protests across the country have forced campus administrators to balance students’ First Amendment rights with the need to protect some Jewish students who say the demonstrations make them feel unsafe.
That has led to mass arrests at Columbia and the University of Texas at Austin.
Other universities such as Wesleyan and the University of Chicago have sought to set ground rules allowing protesters to demonstrate without disrupting campus activities.
Brown University reached an agreement with demonstrators to end their encampment through the end of the school year, allowing commencement to take place.
Originally published in Axios