New York police arrest dozens as protesters cleared from Columbia campus

Dozens of pro-Palestinian protesters have been arrested by New York City police on the Columbia University campus in upper Manhattan. Amidst chants of ‘shame on you’, police escorted handcuffed protesters out and onto buses, nearly 24 hours after they initially took over an academic building. The scene has now quietened, with students who were stuck outside during the standoff beginning to return to campus.

Police have confirmed the clearance of protesters from the campus, including the dismantling of a nearly two-week-old tent camp on the university’s lawns. The NYPD entered the occupied building, Hamilton Hall, on Tuesday night through a second-story window, using ladders for access.

#HAPPENINGNOW: @Columbia has requested our assistance to take back their campus, which has seen disturbing acts of violence, forms of intimidation & destruction of property. @NYPDnews is dispersing the unlawful encampment and persons barricaded inside of university buildings… pic.twitter.com/gQUzXDUlFe

— NYPD Deputy Commissioner, Operations Kaz Daughtry (@NYPDDaughtry) May 1, 2024

Columbia University authorised the raid following the demonstrators’ defiance of a deadline to disperse. The university stated, “After the hall was occupied, vandalised, and blockaded, we were left with no choice.”

This incident is part of a broader wave of protests gripping US universities, with students demanding a boycott of companies and individuals with ties to Israel during the conflict in Gaza. President Biden has emphasised the importance of peaceful demonstrations, stating, “Forcibly taking over buildings is not peaceful—it is wrong.”