Almost two weeks after protestors set up a pro-Palestinian encampment on the school’s main lawn, Columbia University called in the NYPD and evicted protestors from campus on Tuesday.
About 300 people were detained, according to Mayor Eric Adams, as police broke up rallies at Columbia University and the neighboring City College of New York. 282 arrests have been made overall by the NYPD, of which 109 were made at Columbia and 173 at City College. The number of students involved in the arrests is unknown.
Adams stated on Wednesday, “There is a movement to radicalize young people, and I’m not going to wait until it’s done and all of a sudden acknowledge the existence of it,” while maintaining his blame on “outside agitators” for the situation’s escalation. “This is a global problem that young people are being influenced by those who are professionals at radicalizing our children.
“We’re proud to say they have been removed from the campus,” the mayor continued. “While those who broke into the building did include students, they were led by people who were not affiliated with the university.”
The New York Police Department arrives
Following two weeks of negotiations with demonstrators, Columbia President Dr. Minouche Shafik summoned police to the campus. Many persons who the university claimed had taken over Hamilton Hall were taken into custody by the officers.
“Once I became aware of the outside agitators who were part of this operation, as Columbia mentioned in their letter and their request with the New York City Police Department, it was clear we had to take appropriate actions,” Adams stated.
At a subsequent press conference, the mayor displayed the letter from Columbia officials pleading for assistance. Drama also erupted when NYPD Commissioner Edward Caban displayed a lock chain that had been used to enclose Hamilton Hall, citing it as additional evidence of why the police had to attack the building.
According to officials, the lock chain was just one of several protesters placed throughout the structure to barricade people out.
“They tried to lock us out. NYPD and the people of the city of New York will never be locked out,” Caban stated.
At approximately 9 p.m., a horde of police officers began gathering outside the school. While some people drove a big car with an extended ramp to get inside the building through a second-floor window, others came onto campus on foot.
They forced open the doors, moved furniture that had been piled up in the stairwells, and confused the demonstrators with flashbangs.
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“The black block attire, the breaking windows, breaking doors, the vandalism property destruction, the barricading, the make-shift weapons that we recovered in the encampment,” Rebecca Weiner, the NYPD’s deputy commissioner of intelligence and counterterrorism stated. “That change in tactics, combined with the presence of known individuals on campus in the lead-up to what happened in Hamilton Hall, is why we had a real elevated concern around public safety.”
Governor Kathy Hochul supported the NYPD.
“When that protest devolves into violence, vandalism, destruction of property, even harassment, it’s a sign a line has been crossed,” Hochul stated.
“The events on campus last night have left us no choice. With the support of the University’s Trustees, I have determined 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 and require the use of emergency authority to protect persons and property,” the president stated in her correspondence with the police.
“With the utmost regret, we request the NYPD’s help to clear all individuals from Hamilton Hall and all campus encampments. As part of this process, we understand that the NYPD plans to use its LRAD technology to inform participants in the encampments that they must disperse.”
Officials from the university stated that they think non-students led the group that broke into the building. Administrators stated that once demonstrators decided to exacerbate the situation by seizing the hall and threatening a member of the facilities team, they were compelled to contact the police.
To ensure that the encampments are not reestablished, the president of Columbia requested that the NYPD remain on campus until May 17, two days after the school’s commencement.
