Pro-Palestinian demonstrators clash with security guards at Columbia University
NEW YORK AP Police officers in helmets streamed into Columbia University early Wednesday evening to remove a group of mask-clad protesters who staged a Pro-Palestinian demonstration inside the school s main library Videos shared on social media manifested the long line of NYPD officers entering the library hours after dozens of protesters pushed their way past campus precaution officers raced into the building then hung Palestinian flags and other banners on bookshelves in an ornate reading room Particular protesters also appeared to have scrawled Columbia will burn across framed pictures Other videos manifested campus assurance officers barring another group of protesters from entering the library with both sides shoving to try and force the other group aside A police spokesperson late Wednesday announced the department wasn t able to provide a number for how multiple were arrested Videos shared by a reporter on the scene proved more than people being taken away from the library by officers with their hands tied behind their backs Protesters and other supporters meanwhile gathered around the metal impediments set up outside the building by police cheering on the detained demonstrators and chanting Free Palestine The university s acting president Claire Shipman stated in a report Wednesday evening that the protesters who had holed up inside a library reading room were appealed repeatedly to show identification and to leave but they refused The school then requested the NYPD come in to assist in securing the building and the safety of our district she noted Shipman mentioned two university community safety officers sustained injuries as protesters forced their way into the building These actions are outrageous she commented adding that the disruption came as students were studying and preparing for final exams New York City Mayor Eric Adams a Democrat subsequently disclosed officers were entering the campus to remove individuals who are trespassing New York Gov Kathy Hochul also denounced the protesters Everyone has the right to peacefully protest the Democrat wrote on X But violence vandalism or destruction of property are absolutely unacceptable The demonstration and effort to break it up came the same evening that the U S Justice Department disclosed it had brought hate-crime charges against a man who had been repeatedly arrested at pro-Palestinian demonstrations over the past year including one held near Columbia An indictment charged Tarek Bazrouk with assaulting Jewish people at the demonstrations Columbia University in March released sweeping plan changes related to protests following Trump administration threats to revoke its federal funding Among them are a ban on students wearing masks to conceal their identities and a rule that those protesting on campus must present their identification when requested The school also reported it had hired new inhabitants safety officers empowered to make arrests on campus Columbia University Apartheid Divest a pro-Palestinian learner group revealed it had occupied part of Butler Library because it held the university profited from imperialist violence Repression breeds resistance if Columbia escalates repression the people will continue to escalate disruptions on this campus the group wrote online The federal charges against Bazrouk say he kicked a person in the stomach at a protest near the New York Stock Exchange stole an Israeli flag and punched someone in the face at a demonstration near Columbia and punched someone wearing an Israeli flag at another Manhattan protest in January Bazrouk s lawyer Andrew Dalack mentioned his attorneys look forward to zealously defending him A magistrate judge stated Wednesday that Bazrouk could be published on bail but he will be held overnight pending a bail hearing before a federal judge on Thursday
