Police Storm Columbia University Library
Columbia University called in police to respond to a pro-Gaza student sit-in on campus, CE Report quotes ANSA.
Around 50 people were detained, according to Sharla Steinman, a PhD student at the Columbia Journalism School, after briefly occupying Butler Library, the university’s main library.
The students were handcuffed and taken away in police buses; most wore the black-and-white scarves that have become a symbol of pro-Palestinian protests.
Interim university president Claire Shipman stated that the protesters refused to leave the library despite being warned that failing to comply would result in disciplinary action and possibly arrest for trespassing.
"Due to the large number of people involved in the protest inside and outside the building, a crowd attempting to force its way into Butler Library creating a safety risk, and what we believe was a significant presence of individuals unaffiliated with the university, Columbia determined it was necessary to request the intervention of the NYPD to ensure the safety of our community," Shipman said.
During the protest, two Columbia University security officers were injured. “These behaviors are unacceptable,” the president added.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams justified the police’s entry onto Columbia’s campus as being based on a written request from the university.
“At the written request of Columbia University, the police are entering campus to remove individuals who are there without authorization,” Adams said.
“As I’ve repeatedly stated, New York will always defend the right to peaceful protest, but will never tolerate illegality. To our Jewish fellow citizens, particularly the Columbia students who feel threatened or unsafe attending class because of these events: know that your mayor stands with you and will always work to guarantee your safety.”
Adams, who has come under fire from the Trump administration after corruption charges were dropped in exchange for a crackdown on undocumented immigrants, urged the parents of protesting students to “call your kids and explain to them that breaking the law is wrong,” and that they should leave the building immediately.
“To those protesting on campus who are not Columbia students: leave the campus immediately or you will be arrested. We will not tolerate hate or violence in any form,” the mayor said.
