Under the cover of darkness on Tuesday evening, New York Police Department officers raided anti-Israel demonstrations at Columbia University and City College of New York.
Joseph A. Howley, an associate professor at Columbia, posted the text of a message received by university faculty warning of the impending raid.
At this hour, the NYPD is massing on barricaded streets outside the gates of Columbia University. Columbia faculty have spent the day offering our help to defuse the situation on Columbia’s campus and have been rebuffed or ignored. We have been locked out of our campus and have demanded to be allowed back in, and have been rebuffed or ignored. This is not new. Columbia faculty have attempted for the past two weeks to intervene in the situation, only to be shut out by senior University leadership.
NYPD presence in our neighborhood endangers our entire community. Armed police entering our campus places students and everyone else on campus at risk. That is why University statutes require consultation with faculty — statutes which appear to have been ignored since April 17, and again tonight. We hold University leadership responsible for the disastrous lapses of judgment that have gotten us to this point. The University President, her senior staff, and the Board of Trustees will bear responsibility for any injuries that may occur during any police action on our campus.
According to reports, police have entered Hamilton Hall, which protesters have occupied since Tuesday.
🚨 BREAKING: NYPD begins entering Hamilton Hall, which has been taken over by protesters, through windows.
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) May 1, 2024
Here comes the Ice Cream kids, your in for a real treat 🤣 pic.twitter.com/NyReJEKtbh
— Toe Knee (@TonyMoonLander) May 1, 2024
Fox News reported:
According to radio reports from WKCR live from Columbia University, NYPD officers were using sledgehammers to break down barricades at Hamilton Hall.
Hamilton Hall was occupied by anti-Israel protesters at the school on Monday.
According to WKCR, police entered the hall just before 9:30pm and began pulling students out.
NYPD officers deployed tear gas on anti-Israel protesters at Columbia University, according to reports from WKCR radio.
NYPD began moving in on protesters around 9 p.m. Tuesday night.
They appeared to focus their efforts on clearing Hamilton Hall on campus. Protesters were occupying the building on Tuesday.
Protesters were seen flying a Palestinian flag from a window.
The student radio station reported that a person was seen on the ground outside the hall.
A fire alarm was heard going off inside the building, according to the radio report.
Video shows police officers carrying protesters off the premises.
Playtime is over.
NYPD is dragging protesters out of Columbia University.pic.twitter.com/WOs5c5oyu3
— Citizen Free Press (@CitizenFreePres) May 1, 2024
Arrested protesters were loaded onto buses, presumably before being hauled down to the station and booked on various charges.
NYPD brought the paddy wagon.
Protesters are getting a cold, hard jail cell tonight.pic.twitter.com/YEp3NYYP56
— Citizen Free Press (@CitizenFreePres) May 1, 2024
There is a heavy police presence on campus, with officers decked out in riot gear.
Soy boys are freaking out as NYPD march into campus.pic.twitter.com/hYFWnuCt3G
— Citizen Free Press (@CitizenFreePres) May 1, 2024
Columbia Students for Justice in Palestine condemned the police action in an X post:
TO BE CLEAR, COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY HAS CALLED THE COPS ONTO ITS OWN STUDENTS FOR THE SECOND TIME IN TWO WEEKS, ON THE 56TH ANNIVERSARY OF WHEN THEY LAST CALLED THE POLICE ONTO CAMPUS TO ARREST OVER 700 PROTESTING THE VIETNAM WAR & HARLEM GENTRIFICATION ON APRIL 30TH, 1968.
In a statement, Columbia officials said that they had no choice but to call in the NYPD in order to “restore safety and order to our community.”
“We regret that protesters have chosen to escalate the situation through their actions. After the University learned overnight that Hamilton Hall had been occupied, vandalized, and blockaded, we were left with no choice. Columbia public safety personnel were forced out of the building, and a member of our facilities team was threatened. We will not risk the safety of our community or the potential for further escalation.”
There are also reports of rioting and mass arrests at the City University of New York after a Jewish journalist was attacked by a mob of pro-Hamas activists:
Jewish journalist at CUNY was beaten by a mob of pro-Hamas extremists and then the police arrested him instead of the extremists.
Unbelievable antisemitism.pic.twitter.com/ImmTkrr0kl
— Paul A. Szypula 🇺🇸 (@Bubblebathgirl) May 1, 2024
NYPD have just started make mass arrests at CUNY City College.
This comes after pro-Hamas extremists attacked police near the occupied ‘Liberated Zone.’pic.twitter.com/B0FnuRKTcn
— Paul A. Szypula 🇺🇸 (@Bubblebathgirl) May 1, 2024
Keffiyeh-clad protesters clashed with police earlier in the evening.
New York City — Far-left rioters at @CUNY fight police at the violent occupation for Palestine. pic.twitter.com/swLFViKdpu
— Andy Ngô 🏳️🌈 (@MrAndyNgo) May 1, 2024
This is a developing story and will be updated.