New York police arrested more than 70 pro-Palestinian protesters Wednesday after they occupied a reading room inside Columbia University's Butler Library, the latest flashpoint in a campus protest movement that has drawn escalating scrutiny and penalties from the Trump administration.
Videos posted online showed demonstrators entering the library masked and draped in keffiyehs, chanting and clapping to the beat of drums as they hung banners across the walls. The group behind the action, Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD), stated that the protest was a response to the school's financial ties to what they described as "imperialist violence."
"The flood shows that as long as Columbia funds and profits from imperialist violence, the people will continue to disrupt Columbia's profits and legitimacy," the group said in a statement published on Substack. CUAD also renamed the library the Basel Al-Araj Popular University, referencing a Palestinian activist killed by Israeli forces in 2017.
Columbia President Claire Shipman said two university public safety officers were injured during a crowd surge. "Requesting the presence of the NYPD is not the outcome we wanted, but it was absolutely necessary to secure the safety of our community," she said in a statement.
Shipman, who took office in March following her predecessor's resignation amid similar campus unrest, said students had been asked multiple times to identify themselves and leave the library before police were called. "It is completely unacceptable that some individuals are choosing to disrupt academic activities as our students are studying and preparing for final exams," she said.
The NYPD confirmed that officers responded to the university's request and made arrests for trespassing. Protesters reportedly refused to present university IDs and clashed with security personnel, leading to an hours-long standoff inside the building. Some demonstrators reportedly defaced bookshelves with slogans including "Free Palestine."
The protest comes as Columbia faces renewed pressure from Washington over its handling of antisemitic incidents and pro-Palestinian activism. In March, the Trump administration slashed $400 million in federal funding from the university, citing civil rights concerns. The university announced Tuesday that nearly 180 staff working on federally funded research grants would be laid off due to the cuts.
Rep. Elise Stefanik (R., N.Y.), who gained national attention grilling university leaders over antisemitism, responded to the Columbia protest by reaffirming her support for funding restrictions. "While Columbia students try to study for finals, they're being bombarded with chants for a 'global intifada,'" Stefanik said. "President @realDonaldTrump is right: not a single taxpayer dollar should go to a university that allows chaos, antisemitism, and civil rights violations on its campus."
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio indicated that visa statuses of those involved in the protest would be reviewed. "Pro-Hamas thugs are no longer welcome in our great nation," Rubio said. It remains unclear how many of those arrested are on student visas or nonresident status.
This is the first time Columbia has summoned the NYPD onto campus since April 2024, when demonstrators occupied Hamilton Hall. The latest confrontation adds to the administration's expanding crackdown on universities. Earlier this week, Trump ordered the termination of $2.2 billion in federal funding to Harvard University, alleging the school failed to comply with mandates to curb antisemitism.
