Police arrest Columbia protesters occupying Hamilton Hall
Police officers, in tactical gear and helmets, marched into Columbia University‘s campus and started clearing the occupied building. Over 50 protesters have been detained so far, news agency Reuters said.
This comes a day after pro-Palestine student protesters barricaded and occupied a building inside the campus.
New York Mayor Eric Adams said the takeover of Hamilton Hall was instigated by “outside agitators” who have turned “peaceful protests into a violent spectacle“. “We cannot wait until this situation becomes even more serious. This must end now,” he said.
Police also arrested students who had set up a tent encampment in the university quadrangle and had been ordered by the university to clear out.
Police clashed with students at the campus of local government-run City College, where agitators threw firecrackers, and arrested several people.
The US saw over a dozen university campuses going into large-scale protests against Israel’s war in Gaza. The demonstrations have also led to arrests of students who have vowed to continue their protest despite threats of expulsion from university administrations.
Police released videos of people at the university who they said were the “outside agitators” clad in black who had been seen at other agitations in the past creating conditions for clashes with police.
CBS New York TV reported that according to city officials, the wife of a known terrorist was at the protests. (Other media identified the man as Sami Al-Arian who was charged with supporting the Palestinian Islamic Jihad and deported from the US.)
The university has also claimed several Jewish students had fled the campus due to demonstrators’ “anti-Semitic actions“.
For all the latest updates, download PGurus App.
