Police in Portland, Oregon, said they started Thursday to clear dozens of anti-Israel protesters who took over the main library at Portland State University.
The Portland Police Bureau said it’s closing multiple blocks around Millar Library while removing the 50-75 occupiers who seized the building Monday.
Authorities said the removal would last several hours as students and teachers returned to class for the first time in three days.
Occupiers vandalized the library with graffiti and by smashing computers and glass, according to local CBS affiliate KOIN. Police said they opted for a forceful removal after protesters shut down any lines of communication with those outside the library.
“It is important to emphasize that a tremendous amount of work is being done in the background to find a resolution to this event,” Portland’s police said in a press release. “Among those efforts, PPB and PSU administration have made numerous attempts to begin a dialogue with the participants. So far, our efforts have not been successful.”
PSU President Ann Cudd said she contacted police about the occupation shortly after agitators broke into the library.
Those inside the facility are a mix of PSU students, faculty and community members, according to Ms. Cudd.
Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt said felony charges ranging from burglary to criminal mischief are on the table for the protesters, depending on the evidence gathered by police.
Authorities nationwide are cracking down on protest camps at college campuses that formed over the Israel-Hamas war.
Earlier Thursday, Los Angeles police started tearing down barricades erected by pro-Palestinian demonstrators at UCLA.
Some of the hundreds of protesters were detained after refusing to leave.
The encampment at UCLA became fraught with conflict after counterprotesters attacked the camp walls and demonstrators Tuesday night.
Also that day, police in New York City took 280 people into custody after hordes of pro-Palestinian supporters broke into an academic building at Columbia University.
“There’s nothing peaceful about barricading buildings, destroying property and dismantling security cameras,” Mayor Eric Adams said in response to the arrests. “We cannot allow lawful protest to turn into a violence spectacle that serves no purpose.”
More than 1,000 people have been apprehended across the nation since the camps began sprouting up two weeks ago.
• This story is based in part on wire service reports.