BREAKING! Columbia University Incident, Police Move In, Arrest Protesters On Campus
NEW YORK — Protesters at Columbia University were arrested late on Tuesday night after the president of the university requested that the NYPD remove them from the campus.
Around nine o’clock at night, police established a heavy presence outside the institution before starting to move in.
The NYPD entered a second-floor window of Hamilton Hall, which school officials claimed had been occupied by demonstrators, using a sizable vehicle with an extensible ramp, setting off a dramatic scene. Numerous officers in helmets started to enter the premises at around 9:30 p.m. through a window they had forced open. The main gate allowed more throngs of officers to walk onto campus.
Flashbangs were allegedly used by the police to confuse the demonstrators when they were being led inside Hamilton Hall. They said there was no use of tear gas.
WKCR, Columbia’s student radio station, waslive broadcasting while the cops started to move in.
Protesters had blocked the hallways with chairs, drink machines, and other furniture, according to the police. The NYPD made public footage of its officers pushing open a door to a room within the building and removing chairs from a stairwell. It looked like no students were in the room.
Three encampments were destroyed, and police reported that scores of people were tatointo jail. Protesting students were observed leaving the school in at least two New York City Department of Correction busses.
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Early on Tuesday night, police erected barricades around the perimeter of the campus. As police entered the building and led students who were handcuffed out, demonstrators outside the school could be heard yelling Shame on you” and Freee, free Palestine”.
In a message distributed on Tuesday evening, the Morningside campus advised students to “avoid the area until further notice” and “shelter in place for your safety due to heightened activity.”
According to the university, only students who live on campus, essential service personnel who operate in campus buildings and labs, and essential residential student life employees will be able to enter the Morningside campus until further notice. For access to and from the university, staff and students must utilize the gate at 116th Street and Amsterdam.
Help for anyone requiring special access to Wien Hall and East Campus will be provided by security personnel stationed at the Wien Gate.
The MTA reports that police activity causes running in both ways to bypass the 116th Street-Columbia University stop. Riders are advised by the MTA to take the B or C train to 116th Street instead.
Hamilton Hall is occupied by demonstrators from Columbia University.
Groups of protesters broke through Hamilton Hall’s doors early on Tuesday and barricaded themselves inside. After breaking through doors and windows to get entry, protestors vowed to stay inside the structure. A rope and pulley system was being used to raise gofers to the people within the building, and furniture was observed nailed up against the doors.
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A two-week-long tent encampment was situated on the school’s main lawn, across from Hamilton Hall.
It was announced Tuesday afternoon by New York City Mayor Eric Adams and local law enforcement officials that they thought “outside agitators” had “co-opted” the on-campus protests. They called on the demonstrators, who were Columbia students, to leave the area “before the situation escalates in any way” during a press conference.
President of Columbia University Minouche Shafik asks the NYPD for support during protests.
Tuesday night, Columbia University President Minouche Shafik contacted Deputy Commissioner Michael Gerber of the New York Police Department, asking for help in removing protestors from Hamilton Hall and the encampments.
Shafik stated, in part, “We have no choice after what happened on campus [Monday] night. I have concluded, with the support of the University’s Trustees, that the building occupation, the encampments, and the associated disruptions present a clear and present risk to people, property, and the essential operations of the University, necessitating the use of emergency powers to safeguard people and property. We apologize deeply and ask for the NYPD’s assistance in removing everyone from Hamilton Hall and other campus housing. We are aware that as part of this procedure, the NYPD intends to notify encampment participants that they must leave by using its LRAD technology.”
In addition, Shafik asked the NYPD to stay on campus until May 17 in order “to maintain order and ensure encampments are not reestablished.”
May 15 is the day of Columbia University’s commencement.
After the NYPD arrives on campus, Columbia University issues a statement.
At 9:26 p.m., an official from the university issued the following statement:
“This evening, the NYPD showed up on campus a little after 9 p.m. at the University’s request. The goal of this decision is to bring safety and order back to our neighborhood.
“We express remorse for the demonstrators’ decision to use their activities to inflame the situation. Our only option was to comply with the University’s nighttime discovery that Hamilton Hall had been blockaded, vandalized, and occupied. A member of our facilities staff was intimidated, and Columbia public safety officials were compelled to leave the premises. We won’t jeopardize our neighborhood’s safety or the possibility of a future escalation.
“To find the best course of action to safeguard our students and the Columbia community as a whole, the leadership team, which included the Board of Trustees, conferred with law enforcement and security specialists late into the night. The NYPD was in the best position to decide on and carry out an appropriate reaction, therefore we decided early in the morning that this was a law enforcement issue.
“We think the persons leading the group who stormed into and took over the facility are not connected to the university. Sadly, after more than a week of fruitful talks with members of the West Lawn encampment, this risky decision was made.
“We began drastically reducing the amount of persons on the Morningside campus on Tuesday morning. We provided updates to our communion campuses building access throughout the day and will do so over the following several days.
“The demonstrators’ conduct, not the cause they are supporting, led to the decision to contact the NYPD. We have made it quite evident that law-breaking protestors cannot continuously disrupt campus life.
Early on Tuesday, demonstratdecidedsion to escalate to a concerning and unworkable state, destroying property, smashing windows and doors, barricading entrances, and ejecting our staff members and public safety officers. To that end, we are acting as we have always stated we would. Our first concern is and always will be the safety of our community, especially our pupils.”
Students protesting at Columbia University were taken into custody. Before this, on April 18, after pro-Palestinian protestors had initially erected their unofficial tent city on the campus lawn, University President Shafik had called in the NYPD. Part of Shafik’s letter read as follows: “The University’s substantial functioning is at risk due to the encampment and associated disturbances. We deeply apologize and ask for the assistance of the NYPD in getting rid of these people.”
The number of arrests exceeded one hundred. Shafik threatened to suspend the participating students and issued summonses to the majority of them for trespassing.
The camp was reestablished and expanded during the next few days.
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Columbia University has previously detained student protestors before.
Students occupied five school buildings, including Hamilton Hall, in April 1968 as part of a larger protest against the Vietnam War and other issues. On April 30, 1968, after a few days, police arrived to evict the protestors. More than 130 people were injured and over 700 people were taken into custody.
At Columbia University, what’s going on?
Columbia has been under pressure from pro-Palestinian demonstrators to remove itself from corporations that conduct business with Israel.
Talks to try to reach a consensus that would result in the dismantling of the encampment between school officials and organizers of the student protests broke down, officials announced on Monday.
Protesters refused to comply and later forced their way into Hamilton Haeven though students had been advised to put away their tents by Monday afternoon.
According to the New York Police Department, individuals within Hamilton Hall may be charged with burglary, criminal mischief, and trespassing, while those in the encampments may be charged with disorderly conduct and trespassing.
Students who do not want to leave the campsite will be suspended, according to Columbia officials, and those who are found inside Hamilton Hall may be expelled. Seniors, it is said, will not be able to graduate.
University President Shafik stated that although she supports students’ freedom to protest, the action has caused some Jewish students to feel uncomfortable and has diverted attention from final exams.
The university will eventually determine how to handle the situation, according to Governor Kathy Hochul, even though the acts in Hamilton Hall bordered on violence and damage.
At City College, demonstrators and police battle.
Pro-Palestinian protests are widespread in the nation in the Tri-State Area, including the one at Columbia University.
On Tuesday, there was a conflict between police and protestors at City College. On camera, there were sizable gatherings, and some of the attendees poured beverages at the police and the detained individuals. In another video, huge groups of demonstrators could be seen waving flares beneath a gothic arch on campus and cheering.
Starting on Wednesday, all City College programs and events will be conducted virtually out of caution.