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What to know about campus protests:
- Nearly 100 people were arrested tonight at Columbia University as NYPD officers cleared Hamilton Hall, which had been taken over, and a tent encampment that students established to protest the war in Gaza.
- NYPD officers descended on Columbia University just after 9 p.m. and declared the campus clear just before 11 p.m.
- Special police units entered Hamilton Hall through a second-story window using a massive truck and a ramp. About 40 people were arrested in the building's first floor, NYPD said.
- The university has asked the NYPD to maintain a presence on campus through at least May 17, two days after the scheduled graduation.
- Columbia and Barnard students were urged by school officials to shelter in place.
- Before Columbia called for NYPD's assistance, law enforcement officials said they believed the protests had been taken over by outside agitators.
Piled furniture, broken windows left at occupied Hamilton Hall
Images and video released by Columbia University show overturned and stacked furniture, broken windows and other damage in the aftermath of the seizure and occupation of Hamilton Hall and its clearing by police tonight.
The images show overturned chairs, tables and other furniture. Protesters broke windows early this morning and caused other damage at the occupied hall on the Manhattan campus, university officials said and images showed. Barricades were also set up.
In videos released by the university, police with riot helmets and other equipment are seen inside the building, near the piles of furniture, recycling bins and other items. Panes of glass inside the building were also smashed.
The NYPD used a large vehicle with a ramp on it to get into a second-story window of the building and later reported that it had been cleared and secured.
How the NYPD operation at Columbia unfolded
Before police moved in, Columbia University tonight sent a letter asking the NYPD for assistance, two senior New York City officials confirmed at the time.
Mayor Eric Adams said shortly after 6 p.m. that the protest “has basically been co-opted by professional outside agitators” who intend to sow chaos.
NYPD Commissioner Edward Caban called the occupation of Hamilton Hall and other actions last night and this morning “unacceptable” and said the NYPD was ready to assist the university whenever it asked.
NYPD officers were seen shortly before 9:30 p.m. using a vehicle with a ramp to access a second-floor window of Hamilton Hall, which protesters occupied early this morning.
Officers with ballistic shields and flashlights looked in from the ramp on the vehicle near Amsterdam Avenue and West 116th Street and then opened it and entered. More officers followed, video showed.
University spokesman Ben Chang said earlier today that “protesters have chosen to escalate to an untenable situation — vandalizing property, breaking doors and windows, and blockading entrances.”
Around 60 people were believed to be in Hamilton Hall after protesters broke windows and took over the building early today.
Protest encampments to oppose the war in Gaza and show solidarity with Gazans have been occurring at Columbia for around two weeks.
Columbia has said that it is a public safety concern and that it must go, but negotiations with students to dismantle it have not resulted in its being cleared. Columbia yesterday began suspending students who refused to leave.
On April 18, the NYPD was called to campus, broke up an encampment and made more than 100 arrests, but a second one was then set up.
Students warned to stay inside during NYPD operation
Columbia student and university news staff writer Chris Mendell is with several students in Ruggles Hall whom police have told that if they leave the building they will be arrested.
House Speaker Mike Johnson likens protesters to 'common criminals'
House Speaker Mike Johnson tonight referred to student protesters at Columbia as criminals during an interview as NYPD officers began entering Hamilton Hall.
"These kids who are out of control like this need to be dealt with like the common criminals that they are," Johnson, R-La., told Fox News' Sean Hannity.
Separately, House Majority Whip Tom Emmer appeared to praise the police action.
"Enough is enough," Emmer, R-Minn., wrote on X alongside a video that appeared to show police entering the campus. "You cannot expect to break the law and campus rules without repercussions. Accountability is here."
House Republicans today said they plan to hold congressional hearings with more university presidents about antisemitism, in addition to scrutinizing the visas of students engaged in “radical” protests.
About 100 people detained, NYPD says after declaring Hamilton Hall and tent encampment clear
The NYPD said about 10:50 p.m. that Hamilton Hall is clear and that the tent encampment set up at Columbia has also been cleared.
Police detained about 100 people, a spokesperson said.
At Hamilton Hall, which was taken over and occupied early this morning, about 40 people — most of whom were on first floor — were detained.
Police had entered through a second-floor window using “the bear” — the nickname for the ladder truck they used to gain entry, the spokesperson said.
NYPD says no injuries and dozens detained at Columbia
There have been no injuries and dozens of people have been detained since police entered Columbia University this evening after protests and the occupation of Hamilton Hall, an NYPD spokesperson said.
Police are on the top floor of Hamilton Hall clearing barricades and detaining more people, a senior law enforcement source said.
All other floors have been cleared, and police said they found overturned soda machines, couches, chairs and other barricades.
No tear gas was used, but flash-bang devices designed to distract were used as police moved in, the NYPD spokesperson said.
Faculty member calls use of police 'unconscionable'
A faculty member criticized Columbia's leadership for what she said was suppression of students’ rights for months.
“Faculty are surprised. We’re surprised, and, in some ways, we’re not surprised, because we’ve seen this coming,” said Debbie Becher, a professor of sociology at Barnard College.
“For six months now, ever since this conflict began, [the administration has] continuously suppressed students’ speech, and faculty have continued to say we need to support them, to have difficult conversations — that’s what faculty do, that’s what higher education is about,” Becher said.
Barnard is independent, but it’s also an official college of Columbia, and they neighbor each other in Manhattan.
Becher said Columbia has been increasingly suppressing and disciplining students for expressing themselves.
“It’s unconscionable. They’re sending hundreds of police after our students,” she said.
Students say they've been warned to stay inside or risk arrest
Chris Mendell, a student journalist with the university's newspaper, the Columbia Daily Spectator, said police have barricaded students in their dorms.
And radio journalists broadcasting on WKCR said police told them that if they left Pulitzer Hall, they would be detained.
Police bus full of detained people leaves area
An NYPD bus full of people detained on or near Columbia's campus was seen leaving the area.
Protesters on the streets were cheering for those on the bus, and they in turn could be seen screaming.
NYPD says it didn't deploy tear gas
An NYPD official rebutted accounts on social media that said the department used tear gas at Columbia tonight.
"The NYPD does not use tear gas," the official said, adding that police use a distraction device that’s thrown and makes a loud noise that allows officers the time to access a barricade.