NEW YORK, May 1: Police stormed Ivy League Columbia University, a hub of nationwide pro-Palestinian protests, dispersing agitators occupying the building and arresting numerous agitators. University officials, accused of inaction in response to the unrest, told police on Tuesday night to remove protesters who had taken over the administration building by breaking windows and breaking in and to remove furniture and equipment to keep staff away.
He asked that the entrance be strengthened. The action came at a time when pro-Palestinian agitation was taking a communist turn, including religious-based attacks and threats against Jewish students, with one leader reportedly calling for “death to the Zionists.” ing. Before the police operation, New York City Mayor Eric Adams said “professional agitators” who were not students had infiltrated the protests and were behind the occupation.
Police released a video of people at the university who they said were “external agitators” dressed in black who had been seen in other riots in the past, leading to clashes with police. CBS New York television reported that city officials said the wife of a known terrorist was participating in the protest. (Other media outlets identified the man as Sami al-Arian, who was charged with supporting Palestinian Islamic Jihad and was deported from the United States.) Riot police used special equipment equipped with ramps to dramatically enter through windows on the upper floors of the building and use stun grenades (devices that emit bright beams of light and explosive sounds without emitting fragments) to incite them. made the person faint.
Police also arrested students who had set up camps on campus and were ordered to evacuate from the university. Clashes broke out between police and students at the local government-run City College campus, with agitators throwing fireworks and making several arrests. Pro-Palestinian protests that began in Columbia, where students were camping, spread like wildfire to many campuses across the country. Students called for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, an end to U.S. support for Israel, and for universities to cut ties with Israel and refrain from investing in companies that produce weapons or have ties to Israel. Protests were held across the country, hundreds of students and faculty were arrested, and some clashes escalated into violence.
Many universities have moved to distance learning and, in some cases, removed students from campus, negatively impacting the final weeks of the academic year. Republicans, led by House Speaker Mike Johnson, demanded tough action from university leaders against protesters and called for the deployment of the National Guard. Johnson visited Colombia last week and called for the resignation of Nemat Minouche Shafik, president of the London School of Economics, who took over last year. Two weeks ago, she asked police to remove her from the tent camp, but the protesters returned less than a day later. Criticized for this action by the faculty council, she attempted to talk with her students to end her protest peacefully. But that failed and she was given a deadline to close the camp by Monday afternoon. The agitators then occupied the administration building and the confrontation escalated.
