Tensions erupted at Columbia University on Wednesday as over 70 pro-Palestinian protesters were arrested following an hours-long standoff inside Butler Library. The protest, reportedly involving both students and non-students, marked a dramatic escalation in campus activism related to the ongoing Gaza conflict.
Protesters stormed the university’s main library, chanting slogans, displaying keffiyehs, and allegedly defying a federal ban on face coverings imposed by the Trump administration after last year’s demonstrations. Columbia President Claire Shipman said the demonstrators injured two campus security officers while forcibly entering the library. [Source: NYT]
NYPD Called to Campus, Dozens Detained
At the university’s request, the New York Police Department (NYPD) intervened to clear the building. Videos circulated on social media showed officers blocking exits and demanding student IDs before detaining those who refused to comply.
Columbia officials confirmed the protest had been confined to one library room but called the disruption “outrageous” during final exams. President Shipman urged students to avoid the library and emphasized the university’s commitment to academic integrity and campus safety. [Official Statement]
Political Fallout: Trump and Rubio Respond
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that visa statuses of those arrested are under review, and echoed President Donald Trump’s rhetoric by labeling the demonstrators “pro-Hamas thugs.” Trump’s administration has already revoked hundreds of student visas and threatened $400 million in federal funding to Columbia, citing the institution’s failure to curb alleged antisemitism.
Trump, who has intensified pressure on top-tier U.S. universities, also recently cut $2.2 billion in funding to Harvard University. His administration has warned over 60 universities that federal support may be withdrawn if antisemitism complaints are not addressed. [U.S. Department of Education]
Protesters Accuse University of “Violent Repression”
In a statement shared online, the protest group—believed to be affiliated with Columbia University Apartheid Divest—claimed the university was guilty of “violent repression” and said participants had refused to show IDs in solidarity. The group denounced the university’s cooperation with federal immigration enforcement and criticized ongoing U.S. support for Israel amid the Gaza war.
Campus Unrest and Free Speech Concerns
This marks the first time since April 2024 that Columbia has called the NYPD onto campus, when demonstrators occupied Hamilton Hall. As arrests continue and lawsuits are filed over funding cuts, many faculty members and students have raised alarms about academic freedom, civil rights, and freedom of expression on American campuses.
With the administration’s stance hardening and campuses becoming increasingly politicized battlegrounds, the Columbia protests may signal a wider struggle brewing across U.S. higher education institutions.
