Police arrested multiple pro-Palestinian protesters who occupied the Butler Library on the Columbia University campus on Wednesday.
The protesters, many wearing masks and kaffiyehs, were seen pushing through the security entrance at the Butler Library on Wednesday afternoon, where they played drums and “posted signs and stickers to free Mahmoud Khalil, a recent Columbia grad who’s been detained by ICE,” per the New York Times. The protesters occupied the building in an attempt to recreate the events from last year.
The Columbia University Apartheid Divest movement declared in a Substack post that it occupied the library to “show that as long as Columbia funds and profits from imperialist violence, the people will continue to disrupt Columbia’s profits and legitimacy.”
The Trump administration has previously accused Columbia University of failing to thwart antisemitism on its campus, recently cutting $400 million in federal research funding to the school.
“Nearly an hour into the protest, the large group attempted to push through public safety and out of the reading room, but were stopped by personnel who asked for their identification cards,” reported the Times.
“Through a megaphone, one officer informed students that if they show ID, they will be allowed to leave ‘without issue,’ but failure to do so would make them subject to arrest,” it added.
The NYPD told Politico that “multiple” arrests had been made, without giving a specific number.
Columbia University said in a statement that students may face disciplinary action. “It is completely unacceptable that some individuals are choosing to disrupt academic activities as our students are studying and preparing for final exams,” the statement said.
Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) called for the school to take swift action in a post on X.
“While Columbia students try to study for finals, they’re being bombarded with chants for a ‘global intifada,’” Stefanik said. “President @realDonaldTrump is right: not a single taxpayer dollar should go to a university that allows chaos, antisemitism, and civil rights violations on its campus. Columbia must act — enough is enough.”
