BBC Information
New York police have arrested dozens of pro-Palestinian protesters after they occupied a part of the principle library at Columbia College on Wednesday.
Two college safety officers had been injured when protesters pressured their approach into Butler Library on Wednesday, in accordance with a press release from the college president, who known as activists’ actions “outrageous”.
Video posted on social media confirmed chanting protesters coming into the library, many sporting keffiyeh headscarves and masks, defying a ban from the Trump administration that was imposed after widespread campus demonstrations final yr.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio mentioned the visa statuses of these concerned can be reviewed.
Greater than 70 protesters had been reportedly arrested. Nobody has but been charged, and authorities haven’t given particulars about who’s being held and whether or not they’re within the US on visas.
In a publish on social media, the protesters accused the college of “violent repression” and mentioned that that they had refused to indicate their IDs to police and campus public security officers.
Rubio described the group as “trespassers and vandals”. He added that “pro-Hamas thugs are not welcome in our nice nation”, echoing Trump’s justification for his current crackdown on pro-Palestinian campus protests.
In addition to concentrating on distinguished people – by revoking a whole bunch of worldwide pupil visas and threatening deportations – Trump’s workforce has additionally taken direct purpose at top-tier US universities, corresponding to Columbia, which he accuses of failing to battle antisemitism on campus.
Movies of the most recent motion on the prestigious New York establishment confirmed protesters vandalising bookshelves by writing “free Palestine”.
One other clip confirmed public security officers blocking the library door’s exit and asking these inside to indicate their Columbia IDs or face arrest, which led to an hours- lengthy standoff.
Claire Shipman, the Columbia president, mentioned she had requested the New York Police Division (NYPD) for help on Wednesday, including that most of the protesters concerned within the newest motion weren’t college students.
“On the direct request of Columbia College, the NYPD is responding to an ongoing state of affairs on campus the place people have occupied a library and are trespassing,” police confirmed in a publish on X.
Ms Shipman mentioned that whereas the protest was remoted to at least one room within the library, “it’s fully unacceptable that some people are selecting to disrupt educational actions as our college students are learning and making ready for remaining exams”.
The Columbia president, who took over the position in March after her predecessor resigned, requested college students to avoid the library.
“We is not going to tolerate hate or violence in any kind in our metropolis,” New York Metropolis Mayor Eric Adams mentioned in a publish on X.
It marks the primary time that Columbia College has known as the NYPD for an on-campus protest since April 2024, when protesters occupied Hamilton Corridor for practically 24 hours.
Getty PicturesColumbia has drawn explicit ire from Trump, who claims many universities have tolerated antisemitism and harassment of Jewish college students.
The president has already threatened to withhold some $400m (£309m) in federal funding for Columbia, as his administration continues to threaten these concerned in earlier campus protests with deportation.
In March, Columbia agreed to a number of calls for from the Trump administration, together with a ban on face masks at protests and a change in oversight of some educational programmes, after the administration mentioned it deliberate to withhold thousands and thousands in federal funds.
It’s unclear whether or not the funds will probably be reinstated, although a lawsuit was filed by a number of the school members over the cuts.
Columbia was the epicentre of final yr’s protests towards the struggle in Gaza and US assist for Israel. However it’s not the one establishment that the US authorities has focused.
The administration has warned 60 universities that funding could also be cancelled if allegations of antisemitism on campuses usually are not addressed.
On Tuesday, Trump additionally terminated $2.2 billion in taxpayer funds to Harvard College after ordering a overview of its federal financing. The college has refused to bend to Trump’s calls for.
Professional-Palestinian protest exercise seems to be growing at US schools once more, as commencement ceremonies start and heightened consideration is drawn in direction of campuses.
On Monday, over two dozen protesters had been arrested by police in armoured gear on the College of Washington for occupying an engineering constructing.
