NYPD Arrests Over 300 Protesters In Crackdown On College Campuses
A total of 282 people were arrested, including 119 at Columbia University and the rest at City College of New York, John Chell, chief of patrol at the New York Police Department, told reporters Wednesday.
(Bloomberg) -- New York police officers arrested almost 300 people as they broke up escalating pro-Palestinian protests at two colleges amid an outpouring of anger over the Israel-Hamas war.
A total of 282 people were arrested, including 119 at Columbia University and the rest at City College of New York, John Chell, chief of patrol at the New York Police Department, told reporters Wednesday. Officials reiterated their view that outside agitators had joined the Columbia protest but said they were still determining how many non-students were arrested.
“We went in and conducted an operation to allow Columbia University to remove those who have turned the peaceful protest into a place where antisemitism and anti-Israel attitudes were pervasive,” New York Mayor Eric Adams said at a media briefing.
Columbia President Minouche Shafik asked police to stay on campus through at least May 17. Television broadcasts showed officers surging onto the grounds and entering Hamilton Hall, the latest focal point of the protest, which had been occupied by demonstrators early Tuesday. At around 11:40 p.m., university personnel took down tents and removed supplies from the main encampment, the school newspaper reported.
The police crackdown capped two weeks of rising tensions at Columbia, punctuated by more than 100 arrests on April 18 and subsequent protests that culminated with the takeover of Hamilton Hall. The activists have condemned the Israeli military campaign in Gaza that the Hamas-run health ministry says has left more than 34,000 people dead, and are demanding that the university divest from companies supplying weapons to Israel.
In Los Angeles, police responded to a request for help at the UCLA campus, according to an emailed statement from Deputy Mayor of Communications Zach Seid.
Clashes broke out early Wednesday at a pro-Palestinian encampment after the university declared it unlawful, according to the Los Angeles Times. The newspaper said a group of counter-demonstrators tried to tear down the barricades surrounding the protest area. Pro-Palestinian protesters later used pepper spray on those demonstrators, it said.
“The violence unfolding this evening at UCLA is absolutely abhorrent and inexcusable,” Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said in a post on X. “LAPD has arrived on campus.”
On Wednesday morning, private security guards in windbreakers were guarding many campus buildings, while around 100 uniformed officers from nearby police departments including the LAPD, the LA County Sheriff and the California Highway Patrol surrounded the the pro-Palestinian encampment at Dickson plaza, where the clashes took place overnight.
A handful of pro-Palestinian protesters remained at the encampment and were asking supporters via encrypted messaging apps to send in N95 masks and goggles. The metal barricades were still up.
Protests have spread to colleges around the country, sparking recriminations and drawing in everyone from students to faculty and donors to politicians. Universities are struggling to handle the increasingly confrontational pro-Palestinian protests amid accusations that they’re not responding strongly enough to antisemitism on campuses.
Read more: Arrests at Columbia, Students at Brown to Move: Protest Tracker
Columbia said in a statement late Tuesday that the New York Police Department was brought in shortly after 9 p.m. to restore order and ensure the safety of the campus community.
“After the university learned overnight that Hamilton Hall had been occupied, vandalized, and blockaded, we were left with no choice,” said a spokesman for the school. “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.”
In a letter to Michael Gerber, NYPD deputy commissioner for legal matters, Shafik asked the police to clear all individuals not just from Hamilton Hall but also from campus encampments.
Read more: How NYPD Arrests of Columbia University’s Protesters Unfolded
She also requested a police presence on campus through graduation to “maintain order and ensure encampments are not reestablished.” The university’s commencement is scheduled for May 15.
Shafik said that decision to call on the police was made with the support of the university’s trustees after determining “that the building occupation, the encampments, and related disruptions pose a clear and present danger to persons, property, and the substantial functioning of the university.”
Farther uptown, police made arrests outside City College of New York, dispersing protesters and erecting steel barricades in the area. The school is part of the City University of New York system.
Hours before the police action, Columbia officials threatened expulsion for any student who refused to leave the occupied building. The campus has been placed under a partial lockdown, allowing access to only essential staff and some students.
“If you are a parent or guardian of a student, please call your child and urge them to leave the area before the situation escalates in any way,” Adams said to reporters.
--With assistance from Dayana Mustak, Emily Cadman, Sarah McGregor, Carla Canivete, Kevin Whitelaw, Maxwell Adler and Jennah Haque.
(Updates with New York mayor comment in third paragraph)
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