More than 100 protesters were cuffed and hauled away from Columbia University when NYPD cops in riot gear swarmed the campus Thursday after the president made the bombshell decision to clear a large anti-Israel protest encampment.
At least 108 protesters — including some who had to be carried away — were quickly filed onto waiting NYPD corrections buses.
A huge crowd of other demonstrators then defiantly swarmed to the police vehicles to temporarily block them from leaving the scene.
In the wake of the busts, officers then set about tearing down dozens of tents and dumping them in the trash.
“I applaud the cops. They are doing the right thing,” one 20-year-old Columbia student, who didn’t want to be named, told The Post. “We don’t feel safe. We fear for our lives.”
“Remember who started this? Hamas, that terrorist group,” he added. “We pay a lot of money to come here and we should feel safe and protected.”
Columbia President Minouche Shafik announced she “authorized” the NYPD to crack down on the encampment.
Dozens of students occupied the camp on Columbia’s South Lawn, which went up Wednesday morning, even after the administration had warned participants to clear out by 9 p.m. Wednesday — or risk preliminary suspensions.
The NYPD arrested 108 protesters — including Isra Hirsi, the daughter of “Squad” Congresswoman Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) — all of whom were slapped with trespassing summonses.
Two of those protesters were also handed obstruction of governmental administration summonses.
When cops first entered the campus, they warned demonstrators they would be arrested if they did not clear out. Armed with bags of zip ties, the officers then set about detaining those who ignored the warnings.
While the student protesters sat quietly in rows and didn’t resist arrest, about 500 onlookers jeered and shouted at the authorities to stand down.
“Shame, shame, shame!” the crowd taunted, as others demanded “Let them go!”
Some of the taunts were more “vile” — such as telling the officers to kill themselves and accusing them of being in the KKK, the NYPD said at an evening press conference.
“Students have a right to free speech. They do not have a right to violate university policies and disrupt learning on campus,” Mayor Eric Adams said.
“I know the conflict in the Middle East has left many of us grieving and angry. This is a painful moment for our city, for our country and for the globe. New Yorkers have every right to express their sorrow. But that heartbreak does not give you the right to harass others to spread hate.”
In the lead-up to the crackdown, the NYPD moved to block off 114th and 115th Streets, which are south of the schools’ main entrance.
Several lines of officers equipped with riot gear helmets were seen walking down Broadway south of 116th Street, a short distance from the campus gates just before the NYPD moved in.
Meanwhile, Shafik had earlier emailed students, faculty and staff saying she’d requested the NYPD’s assistance — despite her hopes that the move would “never be necessary.”
“I took this extraordinary step because these are extraordinary circumstances,” she said. “The individuals who established the encampment violated a long list of rules and policies.”
The student protesters were warned several times to clear out, the embattled prez added.
“We also tried through a number of channels to engage with their concerns and offered to continue discussions if they agreed to disperse,” Shafik said in her email.
“I regret that all of these attempts to resolve the situation were rejected by the students involved.”
It comes after Shafik had sent a letter to the NYPD’s deputy commissioner of legal matters Wednesday asking cops to step in because students were now “trespassing” on school property in the wake of their suspensions.
“With great regret, we request the NYPD’s help to remove these individuals. We understand that the first step in this process will be for NYPD to use its LRAD technology to inform the participants in the encampment that they must disperse and give them time to leave prior to taking any additional action,” her letter stated.
“We trust that you will take care and caution when removing any individual from our campus. The safety and security of our community is our highest priority. We appreciate your commitment to assist us in a peaceful and respectful manner at this difficult time.”
In his own memo, NYPD Deputy Commissioner Michael Gerber wrote that the authorities were authorized to break up the protest at Shafik’s behest.
It only took being humiliated on international TV to get her to do the right thing.
ReplyDelete