Tensions flared at Columbia University Wednesday when masked protesters stormed the campus’ main library, reigniting anti-Israel demonstrations and sparking confrontations with students and security.
Columbia student Eden Yadegar described a frightening scene as dozens of demonstrators entered Butler Library where she was studying for finals.
“Not only was it absolutely shocking and intimidating,” Yadegar told “Fox & Friends” Thursday, “but it was disrupting one of the most basic functions of the university.”
According to Yadegar, the protesters, many wearing masks, chanted slogans including “Intifada revolution” and “from the river to the sea,” a phrase widely interpreted as calling for the destruction of Israel.
She said campus public safety officers asked the protesters to show university ID cards in order to leave the building, at which point some protesters claimed they were being “held hostage.”
“Which is not only just ridiculous and completely opposed to common sense, but also unbelievable to me that they would make a mockery of the fact there are 59 hostages currently being held by the very terrorist group, Hamas, that they are praising,” Yadegar said.
University officials eventually called in the New York Police Department (NYPD), leading to more than 80 arrests.
Videos from the scene show physical altercations, and minor injuries were reported. Photos shared from inside also depict graffiti, including “Free Gaza” slogans scrawled on library walls and furniture.
Sam Nahins, a Columbia graduate student and U.S. Air Force veteran, was also inside the library during the occupation. He said he grew concerned after recognizing individuals who had been suspended in prior protests.
“I started recognizing students who were suspended last year, who had not returned to school. And that’s when I started to get a little nervous,” Nahins said during an appearance on “America’s Newsroom” Thursday.
Nahins, who served overseas in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Syria, Iraq, and Yemen, said the protesters’ behavior doesn’t reflect a legitimate fight for freedom.
“These protesters are not freedom fighters,” he said. “What they’re doing is intimidating a specific group of students. It’s dangerous, and it is enough.”
In response to the incident, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the government is reviewing the immigration status of individuals involved.
“We are reviewing the visa status of the trespassers and vandals who took over Columbia University’s library,” Rubio wrote in a statement on X. “Pro-Hamas thugs are no longer welcome in our great nation.”
Protesters are reportedly demonstrating in support of Mahmoud Khalil, an accused ringleader of previous pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia, and other suspended students.
The university’s acting president Claire Shipman condemned the violence, writing in part: “Let me be clear: Columbia unequivocally rejects antisemitism and all other forms of harassment and discrimination. And we certainly reject a group of students—and we don’t yet know whether there were outsiders involved—closing down a library in the middle of the week before finals and forcing 900 students out of their study spaces, many leaving belongings behind,” she said.
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