New York City - A large contingent of New York City police officers entered Columbia University late Tuesday night, detaining several pro-Palestinian protesters who had occupied the campus, according to reports from the Associated Press.
The NYPD moved in after receiving notice from Columbia University authorizing them to take action against the demonstrators. Live footage showed police approaching Hamilton Hall, the administration building occupied by students protesting Israeli military actions in Gaza.
Students have been protesting and demanding the university divest from companies they believe are profiting from the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Some protesters were seen being escorted off campus, with their hands zip-tied behind their backs and loaded onto law enforcement buses, the New York Times reported.
Columbia University confirmed it requested police intervention after attempts to resolve the situation peacefully failed. "A little after 9 p.m. this evening, the NYPD arrived on campus at the University's request. This decision was made to restore safety and order to our community," a university spokesperson stated.
The spokesperson added that after Hamilton Hall was occupied, vandalized and blockaded overnight, leaving public safety personnel forced out and a facilities member threatened, "we were left with no choice" but to involve law enforcement.
Footage showed a line of officers climbing through a second-story window of Hamilton Hall using a ladder truck to access the upper floors occupied by protesters. As police swarmed the nearby encampment, students outside jeered, chanting "Shame, shame!"
The university maintained the "group who broke into and occupied the building" was being led by non-affiliated individuals, stating "the life of campus cannot be endlessly interrupted by protesters who violate the rules and the law."
However, U.S. Congressman Jamaal Bowman denounced the police response on social media as "outraged by the level of police presence called upon nonviolent student protestors."
The situation appears to have escalated after protesters defied a Monday 2 p.m. deadline to abandon their camp, leading the university to begin suspending participating students when compromise efforts failed.
