The New York Police Department detained dozens of protesters who allegedly took over Columbia University’s Butler Library at the school’s Morningside Heights campus on Wednesday.
According to the New York Post, the roughly five-hour-long protest left two school safety officers injured. Footage appeared to show the anti-Israel mob shoving a security guard to force their way into the library’s front entrance, interrupting students inside studying.
‘Pro-Hamas thugs are no longer welcome in our great nation.’
The masked protesters shouted, “Free, free Palestine,” and placed signs over bookshelves, with one declaring the space a “liberated zone.” The rioters also spray-painted the walls of the library and hung Palestinian flags.
A defaced glass case read, “Columbia will burn 4 the martyrs,” according to a photo shared on social media.
Acting Columbia President Claire Shipman stated that officials believed that some of the protesters were not affiliated with the school.
In a Wednesday statement, Shipman said, “The individuals who disrupted activities in Butler Reading Room 301 still refuse to identify themselves and leave the building. 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.”
She declared that such disruptions “will not be tolerated.”
New York City Mayor Eric Adams (D) responded to Wednesday’s demonstration.
“At the written request of Columbia University, the NYPD is entering the campus to remove individuals who are trespassing. We will not tolerate hate or violence in any form in our city,” Adams said. “To Jewish New Yorkers, especially the students at Columbia who feel threatened or unsafe attending class because of these events: know that your mayor stands with you and will always work to keep you safe.”
The NYPD told the Daily Signal that it made 80 arrests. However, as of Thursday morning, no charges had been brought against the campus disruptors, the department said.
Columbia University released another statement on Thursday, notifying students that the library had reopened.
Jewish Community Relations Council Mark Treyger called the disruptive protest “not normal under any circumstance.”
“It is unsafe, unbelievable, and unacceptable to have fully masked strangers barging into learning institutions,” Treyger said.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio vowed to look into the protesters’ visa status.
“Pro-Hamas thugs are no longer welcome in our great nation,” Rubio wrote in a post on social media.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) responded to Rubio’s post, stating, “Attention pro-Hamas rioters on college campuses across the country: you are on notice. America will no longer tolerate your antisemitic violence, destruction, harassment, and intimidation.”
Johnson thanked President Donald Trump and Rubio for cracking down on anti-Semitic violence.
Over the first 100 days of Trump’s second term, the administration revoked approximately 4,000 student visas. A senior State Department official previously told the Post that 90% had a “serious” criminal record.
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