NEW YORK (1010 WINS/AP) – A group of individuals were arrested at Fordham University on Wednesday evening for setting up a pro-Palestinian encampment in a campus building, one day after the NYPD cleared protesters who’d occupied Hamilton Hall at Columbia University, arresting hundreds in a protest that rocked the final days of the semester and inspired similar demonstrations across the U.S. Meanwhile, more were arrested just blocks away at City College in Harlem, which moved classes online Wednesday.
HERE’S THE LATEST:
6:15 PM – NYPD clears Fordham University protesters from campus building, makes arrests
The NYPD was requested on the Fordham University campus on Wednesday evening to remove a group of demonstrators that entered a Lincoln Center campus building in the morning and set up an encampment.
According to the letter from Fordham administration requesting the NYPD's presence, released by NYPD Deputy Commissioner of Operations Kaz Daughtry, a group of individuals—believed to be affiliates of the university with valid ID cards—entered the school's Lowenstein Hall and began an encampment demonstration.
At the time of the request, administrators said that there were about 30 individuals at the Lowenstein Hall encampment, and additional protests sprung up outside of the building and on the sidewalk along Columbus Avenue and West 60th Street.
“In an effort to ensure that further escalation does not occur, I have determined that the encampment and related disruptions pose a clear and present danger to persons, property, and the substantial functioning of the University, and require the use of emergency authority to protect persons and property," the request read.
Daughtry also provided video of the NYPD's response, which showed protesters standing in a chain and chanting "Free Palestine" and calling for divestment while officers in riot gear began dismantling tents inside the building.
In the video, an amplified NYPD voice can be heard stating: “This is the New York City Police Department. You have been warned as per Fordham University to leave the campus. If you refuse to leave, you may be placed under arrest.”
Reportedly, officers arrested a dozen or so protesters inside the building, and students participating in the encampment are receiving suspension letters.
"Your @NYPDnews officers continue to protect the right to peacefully protest, but lawlessness will not be tolerated," Daughtry wrote. "I commend the professionalism consistently displayed by our officers."
Daughtry confirmed that officers arrested individuals who refused to disperse.
According to the request letter, Fordham also asked for an NYPD presence on campus through May 22, to align with Commencements and diploma ceremonies and prevent the reestablishment of encampments at the Lincoln Center campus.
5:00 PM -- Manhattan DA gives update on arrests
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said that about 170 of the 280 people arrested at Columbia and City College on Tuesday night have received summonses, and that the remaining 100 or so cases will make their way through the court system.
The earliest arraignments, Bragg said, began Wednesday afternoon and will go into the evening.
Bragg did not yet have a sense of how many of those arrested were students, and how many were unaffiliated with the schools.
“My impression in real time is that these cases are going to come to this office and we will do what we always do, which is apply the facts and the law,” Bragg said.
2:15 PM -- NYPD releases new footage inside occupied Hamilton Hall
The NYPD released new footage Wednesday showing police officers, including members of the elite Emergency Services Unit, searching through Hamilton Hall on Tuesday night after arresting protesters who'd occupied the iconic academic building.
The hall was occupied by pro-Palestinian protesters Monday night before cops moved in around 9 p.m. Tuesday and arrested 40 to 50 people inside the building.
The new video shows some of the damage done, as well as the barricades hastily erected by the protesters, including piles of wooden chairs.
Officials from Columbia and the NYPD have said that the decision was made to move in after the NYPD's intelligence division discovered outside actors not affiliated with the college were inside the hall.
1:50 PM -- Columbia president explains why police were called again
Columbia University’s president released a statement Wednesday morning to members of the college community outlining why she called in police the night before.
Nemat Shafik said protesters taking over an administration building on campus early Tuesday was a “drastic escalation” of the encampment at the college, which “pushed the University to the brink, creating a disruptive environment for everyone and raising safety risks to an intolerable level.”
Shafik, who goes by Minouche, acknowledged the school has a “long and proud” history of activism on campus, but argued those occupying the building committed “acts of destruction, not political speech.”
“I know I speak for many members of our community in saying that this turn of events has filled me with deep sadness. I am sorry we reached this point,” she wrote.
Meanwhile, more than 100 people, most identifying themselves as Columbia University faculty and staff, marched and chanted near the school's campus Wednesday.
They marched on the eastern side of the campus by Hamilton Hall, where, hours earlier, the NYPD burst in to break up a demonstration by protesters who had occupied the building.
Many marchers held signs reading “No cops on campus,” and chanted slogans aimed at Shafik, including “How many kids did you arrest today?”
12:15 PM -- NY reps’ reactions to campus arrests vary
The reaction of local representatives varied after the NYPD arrested hundreds of protesters at college campuses on Tuesday night.
Rep. Jamaal Bowman, a Democrat, wrote on X that he was “outraged by the level of police presence called upon nonviolent student protestors on Columbia and CCNY’s campuses.”
“The militarization of college campuses, extensive police presence, and arrest of hundreds of students are in direct opposition to the role of education as a cornerstone of our democracy,” Bowman continued.
Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez wrote on X that any injuries to students would “fall on the mayor and univ presidents.”
“Other leaders and schools have found a safe, de-escalatory path. This is the opposite of leadership and endangers public safety. A nightmare in the making,” she wrote.
Fellow Democratic Rep. Ritchie Torres wrote on X that protesters crossed the line when they started vandalizing property and breaking into campus buildings.
“No one has a First Amendment right to erect illegal encampments, blockade entrances, vandalize property, break windows and doors, block students from accessing campus, hold people hostage, and harass and intimidate “Zionists” (i.e. most Jews),” Torres wrote.
“These are not activities protected by the First Amendment. These are crimes punishable by law,” he said.
Rep. Mike Lawler, a Republican, joined Torres Wednesday in pushing for a new bill, the COLUMBIA Act, to “monitor and more effectively combat the rising antisemitism we are seeing on our college campuses.”
9:45 AM -- Up to 300 arrested at Columbia and City College in ‘dual operations’
Mayor Eric Adams and NYPD brass confirmed up to 300 people were arrested in “dual operations” at Columbia University and the City College of New York. He said the department was working to identify who are students and who are "outside agitators" influencing the students’ actions.
“They were never concerned about peace, they were concerned about chaos,” the mayor said of outside agitators.
The NYPD's intelligence division confirmed that outside agitators, some of them identified or known to police, were operating on the campus and escalating the situation. The intel showed there was a desire to "start taking over buildings and escalate what was happening already," the mayor said. Police passed that information onto Columbia, which eventually gave the go-ahead for police to move in, according to Adams.
NYPD Chief of Patrol John Chell said of the 282 arrested, 173 were at City College and 109 at Columbia.
NYPD Commissioner Edward Caban said those arrested face charges that include trespassing, criminal mischief and burglary.
Adams said police showed a “great level of discipline to not allow this to devolve into an out of control situation.” He said there were no injuries or violent clashes, though images and video from the scene appear to show scuffles at the very least.
“They’ve been removed from the campus,” Adams said of the Hamilton Hall occupiers after police conducted a “massive operation” at Columbia while simultaneously dealing with protesters at City College blocks away.
The city and Columbia are continuing to coordinate, officials said, with the NYPD keeping a presence on the main campus.
9:15 AM -- Mayor says 'outside agitators' were impetus for police action
Mayor Eric Adams said in an appearance on on “CBS Mornings” on Wednesday that police had identified organizations and individuals who weren’t university students, but professional agitators.
“Once I became aware of the outside agitators who were part of this operation, as Columbia mentioned in their letter and their request with the New York City Police Department, it was clear we had to take appropriate actions when our intelligence division identified those who were professionals, well trained,” Adams said.
Adams and the NYPD made similar claims before the arrests that the protest had been co-opted by outside agitators, though did not provide specific evidence to back up that contention. While people involved in the Columbia demonstrations acknowledge that some people not part of the college community have participated, they forcefully dispute the idea that outsiders were driving or unduly influencing the protests.
Adams pointed to protesters breaking into Hamilton Hall at Columbia University, saying some of the tactics and methods have been used across the globe.
“And we understood how really dangerous this situation had become,” Adams said, noting they made sure that a minimum amount of force was used to “eradicate the problem” at City University of New York and Columbia.
When there’s an analysis of those arrested, Adams said a substantial number of them won’t be City University of New York or Columbia students.
Adams said he understands the power of protests, but they have to make sure they don’t turn violent. Breaking into Hamilton Hall was not protesting, “that was committing a crime,” he said.
8:30 AM – Around 300 arrested at Columbia and City College
Around 300 people were arrested Tuesday night as police cleared out protests at Columbia University and the neighboring City College of New York in Harlem.
Mayor Eric Adams said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” on Wednesday that police had to move in to Columbia University’s Hamilton Hall “for the safety of those children.”
He blamed outside agitators for the building takeover.
“There are people who are harmful and they’re trying to radicalize our children and we cannot ignore this,” Adams said.
The NYPD’s deputy commissioner for public information, Tarik Sheppard, who appeared with the mayor, held up a heavy chain.
“This is not what students bring to school," Sheppard said. "This is what we encountered on every door inside Hamilton Hall.”
Sheppard said about 300 people were arrested at Columbia and City College—including about 230 at Columbia and the rest at City College. Of the 230, between 40 to 50 people were arrested at Hamilton Hall with no injuries.
Adams said they will face charges including burglary, trespassing and criminal mischief, while those who were arrested outside the building will be face less serious charges.
The NYPD planned a 9 a.m. news conference Wednesday to give updates on the protest response.
8 AM – City College goes remote Wednesday after dozens arrested
Just blocks away from Columbia, at The City College of New York, in Harlem, demonstrators got into a standoff with police outside the public college’s main gate. Video posted on social media by news reporters on the scene late Tuesday showed officers putting some people to the ground and shoving others as they cleared people from the street and sidewalks.
After police arrived, officers lowered a Palestinian flag atop the City College flagpole, balled it up and tossed it to the ground before raising an American flag.
At least 25 people were arrested by NYPD officers and CUNY Public Safety officers.
City College President Vince Boudreau said in an emergency message that “Wednesday classes and work to remote, remaining remote until conditions permit a return to normal business operations.”
“This is obviously a wrenching moment for the CCNY community,” Boudreau said Boudreau said.
7:45 AM – Up to 50 people were arrested at Hamilton Hall
The NYPD moved in on Hamilton Hall around 9 p.m. Tuesday, arresting as many as 50 people who’d occupied the academic building. A stream of officers used a ladder to climb through a second-floor window and deployed flashbangs, but not pepper spray, to clear the area, according to police.
In a letter Tuesday, Columbia's president, Minouche Shafik, asked the NYPD to maintain a presence on the campus through May 17, including during commencement on May 15, "to maintain order and ensure encampments are not reestablished."
Protesters first set up a tent encampment at Columbia almost two weeks ago. The school sent in police to clear the tents the following day, April 18, arresting more than 100 people, only for the students to return.
Negotiations between the protesters and the college came to a standstill in recent days, and the school set a deadline for the activists to abandon the tent encampment Monday afternoon or be suspended.
Instead, protesters defied the ultimatum and took over Hamilton Hall early Tuesday, carrying in furniture and metal barricades.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.