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1 of 11 | NYPD constabulary officers region and apprehension Pro-Palestine protesters who occupied nan Hamilton Hall building nan field astatine Columbia University successful New York City precocious connected Tuesday. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo
May 1 (UPI) -- As pro-Palestinian protests proceed to impact assemblage campuses passim nan United States, New York Mayor Eric Adams connected Wednesday said astir 300 group were arrested nan nighttime earlier astatine Columbia University and City University of New York.
"While those who collapsed into nan building did see students, they were led by group who were not affiliated pinch nan university," Adams said astatine a Wednesday greeting press convention pinch nan city's constabulary commissioner.
On Tuesday, hundreds of New York Police Department officers wearing riot cogwheel began to combine connected Columbia University's field astatine astir 9 p.m. EDT. They later swarmed and entered Hamilton Hall, wherever they cleared nan building and arrested dozens of protesters wrong and outside.
The politician blamed "outside agitators" for nan escalation, stating his belief that "there is simply a activity to radicalize young people, and I'm not going to hold until it's done and each of a abrupt admit nan beingness of it."
Columbia University announced that each remaining classes and last exams connected field will beryllium held virtually. They said they judge non-affiliated actors took portion successful forcing nan situation's escalation.
By Wednesday, Columbia University's President Nemat "Minouche" Shafik, who had requested for rule enforcement to intervene, said she was "sorry we reached this point."
"Over nan past fewer months, we person been diligent successful tolerating unauthorized demonstrations, including nan encampment," Shafik, who has held nan occupation since July 2023, wrote successful a letter. She added that assemblage officials had "spent 8 days engaging complete agelong hours successful superior speech successful bully religion pinch protestation representatives" to not avail.
Hamilton Hall had been cleared and 2 section encampments dismantled astatine nan petition of nan assemblage administration. Dozens of protesters were taken into custody, zip tied and escorted extracurricular to NYPD buses. The remainder of Columbia's field was put connected lockdown arsenic students were ordered to shelter successful place.
It is unclear for now conscionable really galore of nan 282 arrested Tuesday nighttime were really students of nan 109 taken into custody connected nan Columbia field and 173 astatine CUNY.
"This is simply a world problem that young group are being influenced by those who are professionals astatine radicalizing our children," said Adams, who was a constabulary serviceman for 22 years anterior to entering politics.
While nan constabulary officers refrained from utilizing tear state and said location were nary injuries, they reportedly were forced to usage flash-bang grenades to get past doors barricaded pinch chairs, tables and vending machines wrong nan building, according to officials.
"But students and extracurricular activists breaking Hamilton Hall doors, mistreating our Public Safety officers and attraction staff, and damaging spot are acts of destruction, not governmental speech," nan assemblage president wrote successful her Wednesday letter.
The NYPD is expected to support a beingness connected assemblage campus' up of Columbia's upcoming May 15 commencement ceremonies. But reactions among nan city's assemblage students were seemingly mixed.
"I'm horrified astatine what our assemblage has done. It's not OK nether immoderate condition to nonstop that galore constabulary onto campus," Columbia elder Masha Sokolova told CBS News.
Another Columbia University student told MSNBC Wednesday greeting that he saw rule enforcement tearing down things including flags and utilizing expletives.
"It sewage violent," said Edgar Gomez, a student. "I've ne'er seen this hostility astatine all," he said.
"If they had utilized capable constabulary unit to extremity a 2nd encampment from being built," said Lily Zuckerman, a sophomore astatine Barnard College, "then we wouldn't moreover beryllium present today. So I deliberation it's bully to return immoderate preventative measurement needs to beryllium taken."
All classes were canceled Wednesday astatine nan University of California, Los Angeles, arsenic students were told to "avoid nan Royce Quad area."
A conflict betwixt protesters astatine UCLA followed conscionable earlier 11 p.m. Tuesday nighttime erstwhile astir 50 counter-protesters showed up to nan pro-Palestinian encampment and tried to sound down placed barriers.
There was 1 reported injury.
On Monday, UCLA was forced to step-up information astir an encampment of 50 tents connected Royce Quad aft "physical altercations" collapsed retired betwixt pro-Israel demonstrators and pro-Palestinian protesters.
On Tuesday, nan assemblage had informed pro-Palestinian protesters that their encampment was "unlawful" and violated schoolhouse policies arsenic officials likewise took steps to disband nan demonstrations.
A spokesperson for Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass successful nan early greeting noted really she had "spoken to Chancellor Block and Chief Choi" and that "LAPD is responding instantly to Chancellor Block's petition for support connected campus."
That was followed later by a Los Angeles Police Department post on X really astatine nan petition of UCLA and because of "multiple acts of unit wrong nan ample encampment connected their campus," nan constabulary section will beryllium assisting different rule enforcement agencies "to reconstruct bid and support nationalist safety" connected UCLA's campus.
Bass called nan unfolding unit astatine UCLA "absolutely abhorrent and inexcusable" arsenic she said rule enforcement had arrived on field earlier 5 a.m. section time.
Scores of pro-Palestine protests and encampments connected assemblage aliases assemblage campuses person dispersed across nan United States successful caller weeks, starring to nan arrests of hundreds and an expanding administrative nightmare for assemblage officials.
On Sunday, Massachusetts' Tufts University said a pro-Palestinian encampment erected on nan field "must end," calling connected protesters to region it "peacefully and voluntarily."
At adjacent Yale University successful mid-April, astir 50 demonstrators were arrested at aft refusing to time off nan school's Beinecke Plaza during a wide protestation calling for subject weapons divestment.
On Tuesday astatine neighboring Brown University successful Rhode Island, officials said they had reached an statement with pro-Palestinian protesters to extremity their encampment.
"When you've had genocide transportation connected for this long, group are conscionable not going to beryllium capable to unrecorded broadside by broadside pinch 2 governments successful nan measurement that it's been suggested," a pro-Palestinian demonstrator astatine UCLA, Luke Veltz, was quoted connected Wednesday.
"And I deliberation that a free Palestine is nan only measurement forward," he told KTLA successful Calif.
New York Police Department officers region and apprehension protesters who occupied nan Hamilton Hall building astatine Columbia University successful New York City connected April 30, 2024. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo
