Dozens arrested at Columbia University after protesters stage demonstration in library

Dozens of pro-Palestinian protesters were arrested at Columbia University on Wednesday after they attempted to occupy the school's Butler Library, prompting the school president to call in the New York City Police Department (NYPD).

The total number of arrests remains unclear, but the Columbia Spectator student newspaper said that over 70 people were taken into custody following the protest in the Lawrence A. Wien Reading Room. Two people were taken off campus on stretchers by paramedics, one of whom had their face covered in a keffiyeh, a scarf that has become synonymous with the Palestinian liberation movement, and another whose face was covered by a sheet, according to the newspaper.

"Despite over three hours of kettling and assault by Columbia Public Safety, we continue to hold the line. We are facing one of the largest militarized police forces in the world. Deputized Public Safety officers have choked and beaten us, but we have not wavered," the Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD) student group said in a statement posted to social media.

"We refuse to show our IDs under militarized arrest. We refuse to go down quietly. We will not be useless intellectuals. Palestine is our compass, and we stand strong in the face of violent repression," the group added.

The group said in a Substack post that over 100 protesters had "flooded Butler Library and renamed it the Basel Al-Araj Popular University."

The post contained a list of demands which included that Columbia divest "from Zionist occupation, apartheid and genocide," an academic boycott of what it called "complicit institutions," the removal of police and immigration officers from campus, and other items.

University President Claire Shipman said the individuals involved refused "to identify themselves and leave the building." She said she called in the NYPD because of the "number of individuals participating in the disruption inside and outside of the building, a large group of people attempting to force their way into Butler Library creating a safety hazard, and what we believe to be the significant presence of individuals not affiliated with the University."

It is unclear how Shipman came to that conclusion, but authorities have in the past variously accused demonstrations of either having been infiltrated or orchestrated by what they call "outside agitators."

Shipman said two university police officers were injured during what she described as a "crowd surge," saying the development was "outrageous."

New York City Mayor Eric Adams, a staunch critic of past pro-Palestinian activism, said "New York City will always defend the right to peaceful protest, but we will never tolerate lawlessness."

"To those protesting on campus who do not attend Columbia: exit the campus immediately or you will be arrested. We will not tolerate hate or violence in any form in our city," he said in a statement.

Outside of the library, videos posted to social media showed mass pro-Palestinian marches taking place around Columbia.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who has sought to deport international students who have voiced pro-Palestinian sentiments during campus demonstrations, said in an X post that the State Department is "reviewing the visa status of the trespassers and vandals who took over Columbia University's library."

"Pro-Hamas thugs are no longer welcome in our great nation," he wrote.