A demonstration by pro-Hamas supporters at Columbia University turned violent on Tuesday after Columbia University authorized the city to deploy officers onto the campus amid escalating tensions.
As the situation intensified, the university administration issued a “shelter in place” directive to students, citing “heightened activity on the Morningside campus.” The alert advised students to remain indoors for their safety, warning that failure to comply could lead to disciplinary actions.
The NYPD issued a directive to all non-essential personnel, including students not involved in the protests, to vacate the campus area. “The operation at Columbia University has commenced,” announced an NYPD spokesperson.
“All credentialed media members are to meet with DCPI personnel at West 114th Street and Broadway. Anyone remaining in the area without authorization will be escorted from the premises.”
According to WKCR radio, NYPD officers used tear gas on pro-Hamas protesters at Columbia University.
FOX News reported that Columbia University’s student radio has reported that the NYPD’s Emergency Services Unit is entering Hamilton Hall through the windows using a BearCat vehicle. The building has been occupied by anti-Israel demonstrators since early Tuesday morning, with officers now accessing the second floor via these unconventional entry points.
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Fury as shocking footage shows inside the trashed Columbia University hall that was occupied by pro-Palestine protesters after riot cops raided it and huge encampment, arresting 100: College begs police to stay on campus for THREE WEEKS until end of term
Columbia University protesters smashed windows, upended furniture and caused damage throughout Hamilton Hall amid their brief occupation, shocking footage shows.
Around 40 protesters were arrested on the first floor of the building after police swooped just after 9pm on Tuesday.
Pictures and video taken of the carnage show the hall’s trashed interior strewn with activists’ belongings.
President Minouche Shafik called in the NYPD in to ‘restore order and safety’ to the campus amid the escalating protests which also included a massive encampment on the school’s lawns.
The raid saw more than 100 demonstrators arrested across the campus and at nearby City College New York, where similar demonstrations unfolded.
Police stormed Hamilton Hall through an upstairs window after students used furniture to barricade the entrance.
Pictures show how chairs and desks have been turned upside down to become makeshift barriers.
The cost of damage to the building is likely to run into thousands of dollars’ worth.
The occupation followed weeks of unrest at Columbia, which began with the establishment of the encampment on April 17.
Protesters set up tents after Shafik was grilled before Congress about anti-Semitism on campus.
They repeatedly ignored calls to disband, with the demonstrations ramping up early Tuesday with the violent takeover of Hamilton Hall.
After two weeks of chaos, which saw classes moved online and facilities shuttered, Shafik finally called in the police who managed to clear out the campus in just two hours.
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UCLA Chancellor Block indicates potential consequences for protesters, condemns campus aggression
Chancellor Gene Block released a statement Tuesday saying the university has increased its security presence around the pro-Palestine encampment in Dickson Plaza, has requested law enforcement investigations into allegations of violence and has begun the student conduct process that may result in disciplinary action.
The statement, sent in a campuswide email at 5:04 p.m., declared the recent pro-Palestine encampment outside Royce Hall to be unauthorized. It follows a statement distributed around the encampment requiring participants to leave the area or potentially face disciplinary action, such as suspension or expulsion.
The university has not previously called the encampment unlawful or unauthorized. It previously provided a permit for counter-protesters to set up a large screen and speakers in Dickson Plaza outside Kaplan Hall on Sunday. Although UCLA spokesperson Ricardo Vazquez said the permit did not extend into Monday, there were no plans to remove it as of 11:52 a.m. on Monday, and it remains in place as of 5:25 p.m. on Tuesday.
The statement added that barricades set up by protesters of the encampment have been removed and will not be allowed up again. Block said the university has initiated the student conduct process to investigate those who prevented other students from accessing parts of campus.
Block acknowledged that many protesters and counter-protesters have been peaceful, but he said other actions have been “shocking and shameful.”
“UCLA supports peaceful protest, but not activism that harms our ability to carry out our academic mission and makes people in our community feel bullied, threatened and afraid,” Block said in the statement. “These incidents have put many on our campus, especially our Jewish students, in a state of anxiety and fear.”
UC Divest Coalition at UCLA said in a written press release that it believes violence on campus was caused primarily by counter-protesters supporting Israel, some of whom the protesters allege threatened them with weapons. They added that they believe the administration has failed to protect students on campus.
“Throughout these agitations we have kept each other safe while administration and campus security have done nothing but stand idly by,” UC Divest said in the statement.
University administrators had been summoned earlier Tuesday to testify before a congressional committee regarding antisemitism on campus and protests related to the war on Gaza.
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