Pro-Palestinian protestors wearing masks and keffiyehs clashed with security guards Wednesday after staging a protest inside Columbia University’s main library.
Videos and photos shared on social media showed dozens of protesters pushing past campus security officers and racing into the building. The group then hung Palestinian flags and other banners on bookshelves in an ornate reading room. Some also appeared to have scrawled “Columbia will burn” across framed pictures.
Other videos showed campus security officers barring another group of protesters from entering the library, with both sides shoving to try and force the other group aside.
University officials in a statement that the protest is so far isolated to one room in the library. They say protesters were asked for identification and ordered to disperse, but none immediately complied.
“They have been told that failure to comply will result in violations of our rules and policies and possible arrest,” officials said, noting that the disruption comes as students are studying and preparing for final exams.
“These disruptions of our campus and academic activities will not be tolerated. Individuals found to be in violation of University Rules and policies will face disciplinary consequences,” officials added.
Mayor Eric Adams said police were monitoring the situation and in communication with the university. A police department said officers were aware of the disturbance and had been stationed nearby ready to intervene if requested.
Following threats by the Trump administration to its federal funding, Columbia in March announced sweeping policy changes.
Among them, a ban on students wearing masks to conceal their identities and a rule that those protesting on campus must present their identification when asked. The school also said it had hired new public safety officers empowered to make arrests on campus.
Columbia University Apartheid Divest, a pro-Palestinian student group, said it had occupied part of Butler Library because it believed the university profited from “imperialist violence.”
“Repression breeds resistance — if Columbia escalates repression, the people will continue to escalate disruptions on this campus,” the group wrote online.
