A group of keffiyeh-wearing anti-Israel protesters ripped up and burned diplomas outside Columbia University on Wednesday shortly after a graduation ceremony at the Ivy League institution, while unruly demonstrators also tangled with police. 

Chaos erupted outside the university when the protesters – many of whom had their faces covered with masks – torched diplomas in food trays next to a sign that read “Free Mahmoud Khalil,” the former student who was arrested by immigration agents in March and whom the Trump administration is trying to deport. 

“Free, free Palestine,” and “You’re committing genocide,” the protesters yelled in the rain to the sound of drums. 

A group of keffiyeh-wearing anti-Israel protesters ripped up and burned diplomas outside Columbia University on Wednesday shortly after a graduation ceremony at the Ivy League institution. (Timothy A. CLARY / AFP)

At least three people could be seen ripping up diplomas, although only one of them was wearing a Columbia blue robe. The group was surrounded by older demonstrators who didn’t appear to be students and others holding signs indicating they were alumni of the university.

“While 14,000 Palestinian children are at imminent threat of death from the occupation’s starvation of Gaza, Columbia wants to honor a WAR CRIMINAL and MURDERER on our campus today,” the group wrote on X without substantiating their claims.

Wednesday’s ceremony involved about 12,000 graduates and an estimated 25,000 family and friends, according to the New York Post.

The disruption followed on from a graduation ceremony on Tuesday where students heckled Acting University President Claire Shipman and shouted, “Free Mahmoud!” 

The chants continued for nearly 30 seconds. Once the agitators calmed down, the acting president was able to get through her final points.

A person wearing graduate robes is detained by police across the street from the main gates of Columbia University on May 21, 2025, in New York.  (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)

It was the latest in a long line of protests to rock the Manhattan college since the onset of the war in Gaza. Last year, the university’s encampment protests ignited a wave of campus protests throughout the country.

The chaos at Columbia culminated in students taking control of Hamilton Hall and violently clashing with police in riot gear. The ugly scenes saw more than 200 people arrested.

Two weeks ago, students protested inside a library at Columbia, which led to dozens more arrests as the university leadership said it would take a harder approach to illegal behavior on campus.