University emphasized the necessity of police intervention to ensure the safety of the campus community and prevent further escalation.
New York Police Department (NYPD) officers entered a Columbia University campus hall in Manhattan on Tuesday night “to restore safety and order,” arresting pro-Palestine protesters who had barricaded themselves inside less than 24 hours earlier.
The NYPD commenced its operation around 9 p.m. ET. In an update later that evening, the NYPD said that its officers had cleared the encampment in Hamilton Hall at the university. Around 100 individuals were taken into custody, according to multiple reports.
Hundreds of NYPD officers descended on Columbia University, with dozens entering Hamilton Hall through a second-floor window using an elevated ramp.
Many officers were seen wearing helmets, with some equipped with heavy-duty bolt cutters and flexi-cuffs, a type of restraint cuff similar to zip ties. Officers used flashbangs as they worked to clear the building, reported Fox News.
The protesters had breached Hamilton Hall in the early morning hours of Tuesday, barricading and locking the entrance doors.
Columbia University informed the NYPD that an individual had hidden inside Hamilton Hall until after it closed and then let other individuals inside, according to the letter the university sent to the NYPD. Two security guards were inside at the time, but the university said it was “able to secure their release.”
‘Proud Moment’ Old Glory Restored
NYPD Deputy Commissioner of Operations Kaz Daughtry posted a video on X, formerly Twitter, showing police progressing up a stairwell, clearing chairs out of the way after entering the building via the elevated ramp.
Another clip shows police using a hammer and nail to push into a room marked “312.” An officer shouts “police” as they enter the room.
The deputy commissioner also shared a photo showing supplies left behind by the protesters in an internal courtyard. The protesters had vandalized the Delacorte fountain, sticking up the word “people’s” above the word “fountain” engraved in stone.
Following the operation at Columbia, NYPD officers restored an American flag that had been replaced with a Palestinian flag on a pole at the City College of New York.
