Police raid Columbia University and arrest protesters

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STORY: New York City police raided Columbia University and arrested dozens of pro-Palestinian demonstrators late on Tuesday.

Groups of helmeted police marched into the elite university’s campus around 9 p.m. to remove a protest camp that the school has tried to dismantle for nearly two weeks.

Some of the students had also seized Hamilton Hall, an academic building and a line of officers climbed into the second story using a police vehicle with a ladder.

The NYPD released video of the raid on X, with a statement saying the school had requested assistance to 'take back their campus.'

Shortly after officers had moved in, Columbia University President Minouche Safik requested that police stay on campus until at least May 17, two days after graduation, saying in a letter it was, 'to maintain order and ensure that encampments are not re-established'.

Protesters say they have three demands from Columbia:

Divesting from companies supporting Israel’s government, greater transparency in university finances, and amnesty for students and faculty disciplined over the protests.

This week, Safik said Columbia would not divest from finances in Israel, but offered to invest in health and education in Gaza and also make Columbia’s holdings more transparent.

Hours before the police entered the school, city officials claimed 'external actors' were provoking an escalation of the protests.

New York City Police Commissioner Edward A. Caban:

"We are seeing the tactics changing in a way that's endangering public safety. These once peaceful protests are being exploited by professional outside agitators and the safety of all students, faculty and staff are now a concern."

One student protest leader Mahmoud Khalil has disputed the idea that outsiders led the occupation.

Columbia has been the focal point of a wave of protests across the United States.

More broadly, the October 7 attack on southern Israel by Hamas militants from Gaza, and the ensuing Israeli offensive on Gaza, have unleashed the biggest surge in American student activism since 2020’s anti-racism protests.

Counter-protesters have accused demonstrators of fomenting anti-Jewish hatred.

While the pro-Palestinian side say they are being unfairly branded as antisemetic for criticizing Israel’s government.