Nearly 80 pro-Palestinian protesters were arrested on Wednesday after taking over part of Columbia University’s library in a raucous demonstration that included scuffles with officers, videos of the incident show.
Two Columbia public safety officers “sustained injuries during a crowd surge when individuals attempted to force their way into the building and into Room 301,” Acting President Claire Shipman said in a statement. “These actions are outrageous.”
“Individuals participating in the Reading Room 301 disruption were repeatedly asked for identification and to leave, and were repeatedly told that failure to comply would result in violations of our rules and policies and possible arrest for trespassing,” she said.
“Five hours after a group of about 100 masked protesters forced their way past security guards and pushed through turnstiles into the school’s main library, they had their hands zip-tied behind their backs and were being marched out the door by police,” The Wall Street Journal reported.
According to an NYPD spokesperson, the 78 arrested received desk appearance tickets, the Columbia Spectator student newspaper reported, adding it was the largest mass arrest at the Ivy League university since April 2024, when police arrested 109 individuals who violently took over a campus building called Hamilton Hall.
“Columbia will burn for the martyrs” is a totally normal thing for college kids to spray paint on the library walls pic.twitter.com/KyHGvV4NI0
— Seth Mandel (@SethAMandel) May 8, 2025
NEW: Police sources tell me *at least 50 of the 80 protestors arrested last night are Columbia University students.
Investigators say the others would NOT share if they were students.
But the group was fingerprinted.
Now, HSI is requesting those fingerprints and the names of… pic.twitter.com/iUS3WjBVqB
— Alexis McAdams (@AlexisMcAdamsTV) May 8, 2025
The protesters wore masks and kaffiyehs, and “had burst through a security gate shortly after 3 p.m. and hung banners in the soaring main room of Butler Library’s second floor, renaming the space ‘the Basel Al-Araj Popular University,'” the New York Times reported.
“Columbia security guards blocked them from leaving unless they showed their identification, causing an hourslong standoff. Outside the library, crowds gathered, leading to a chaotic scene. By about 7 p.m., Columbia administrators had called the New York City police back to campus for the first time since the occupation of Hamilton Hall,” the Times reported.
On Thursday, Columbia University announced the library was restored to order.
“Butler Library is now open to students, and the third floor reading room—with thanks to the efforts of a large and dedicated overnight facilities team—is restored and ready for use,” according to the statement.
The Journal reported that Columbia leadership’s response to the protest was more stringent than last year.
“The school’s response to the protest contrasted with its approach last year, when chaotic and sometimes violent pro-Palestinian protests and encampments led the school to move classes online and cancel its main graduation ceremony. Now, for the first time in more than 50 years, the school employs campus police with expanded authority to arrest students,” it reported.
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IMAGE CAPTION AND CREDIT: Anti-Israel student protesters scuffle with Columbia University police in Butler Library on Wednesday / social media screenshot