AP
New York Mayor Eric Adams reported this Wednesday that about 300 people were arrested following the pro-Palestinian demonstrations at Columbia University.
The pro-Palestinian demonstration that paralyzed Columbia University ended dramatically Tuesday night, when police with riot shields stormed a building occupied by protesters the night before and began arrests.
New York City police officers entered Columbia's campus after the university asked for help, according to a statement released by a spokesperson. An encampment on the school grounds and the Hamilton building was cleared, where a line of police entered through a second-story window with a ladder.
Protesters calling on the prestigious university to stop doing business with Israel or companies that support the war in Gaza had occupied the building about 20 hours earlier.
“After the university learned overnight that Hamilton Hall had been occupied, vandalized and blocked, we had no choice,” a university statement said.
“The decision to contact (city police) was in response to the actions of the protesters, not the cause they defend. “We have made it clear that campus life cannot be ceaselessly disrupted by protesters who violate the rules and the law.”
The arrests occurred after protesters ignored an earlier ultimatum to leave the camp on Monday under threat of suspension, and came after other universities redoubled their efforts to end the Columbia-inspired protests.
Police intervened on other campuses in the United States during the last two weeks, which has led to confrontations and more than a thousand arrests. In a few cases, university officials and protest leaders reached agreements to limit interference in campus life and impending graduation ceremonies.