Police arrest dozens of pro-Palestinian protesters at Columbia University
New York police have arrested dozens of pro-Palestinian protesters after they took over part of the main library at Columbia University on Wednesday.
Two university security officers were injured when protesters forced their way into Butler Library on Wednesday, according to a statement from University President Claire Shipman, who called their actions "outrageous", News.Az reports, citing BBC.
Video posted on social media showed chanting protesters entering the library, many wearing keffiyeh headscarves and masks, defying a ban imposed by the Trump administration.
Mrs Shipman said she asked the NYPD for assistance, and added that many of the protesters were not students.
More than 70 protesters were arrested by the police, Columbia Spectator, a campus newspaper, reported.
"At the direct request of Columbia University, the NYPD is responding to an ongoing situation on campus where individuals have occupied a library and are trespassing," the NYPD posted on X.
Columbia's president said that while the protest was isolated to one room in the library, "it is completely unacceptable that some individuals are choosing to disrupt academic activities as our students are studying and preparing for final exams".
Mrs Shipman, who took over the role in March after the previous president resigned, asked students to stay away from the library.
"We will not tolerate hate or violence in any form in our city," New York City Mayor Eric Adams said in a post on X.
In a post on social media, the protestors accused the university of "violent repression" and said that they had refused to show their IDs to police and campus public safety officers.
It marks the first time that Columbia University has called the NYPD for an on-campus protest since April 2024, when pro-Palestinian protesters occupied Hamilton Hall for nearly 24 hours.
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