Dozens of pro-Palestinian protesters arrested at Columbia University

New York police have arrested dozens of pro-Palestinian protesters after they occupied part of the main library at Columbia University on Wednesday.

Two university security officers were injured when protesters forced their way into Butler Library on Wednesday, according to a statement from the university president, who called activists’ actions “outrageous”.

Video posted on social media showed chanting protesters entering the library, many wearing keffiyeh headscarves and masks, defying a ban from the Trump administration that was imposed after widespread campus demonstrations last year.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the visa statuses of those involved would be reviewed.

More than 70 protesters were reportedly arrested. No one has yet been charged, and authorities have not given details about who is being held and whether they are in the US on visas.

In a post on social media, the protesters accused the university of “violent repression” and said that they had refused to show their IDs to police and campus public safety officers.

Rubio described the group as “trespassers and vandals”. He added that “pro-Hamas thugs are no longer welcome in our great nation”, echoing Trump’s justification for his recent crackdown on pro-Palestinian campus protests.

As well as targeting prominent individuals – by revoking hundreds of international student visas and threatening deportations – Trump’s team has also taken direct aim at top-tier US universities, such as Columbia, which he accuses of failing to fight antisemitism on campus.

Videos of the latest action at the prestigious New York institution showed protesters vandalising bookshelves by writing “free Palestine”.

Another clip showed public safety officers blocking the library door’s exit and asking those inside to show their Columbia IDs or face arrest, which led to an hours- long standoff.

Claire Shipman, the Columbia president, said she had asked the New York Police Department (NYPD) for assistance on Wednesday, adding that many of the protesters involved in the latest action were not students.

“At the direct request of Columbia University, the NYPD is responding to an ongoing situation on campus where individuals have occupied a library and are trespassing,” police confirmed in a post on X.

Ms Shipman said that while the protest was isolated to one room in the library, “it is completely unacceptable that some individuals are choosing to disrupt academic activities as our students are studying and preparing for final exams”.

The Columbia president, who took over the role in March after her predecessor resigned, asked students to stay away from the library.

“We will not tolerate hate or violence in any form in our city,” New York City Mayor Eric Adams said in a post on X.

It marks the first time that Columbia University has called the NYPD for an on-campus protest since April 2024, when protesters occupied Hamilton Hall for nearly 24 hours.

Columbia has drawn particular ire from Trump, who claims many universities have tolerated antisemitism and harassment of Jewish students.

The president has already threatened to withhold some $400m (£309m) in federal funding for Columbia, as his administration continues to threaten those involved in previous campus protests with deportation.

In March, Columbia agreed to several demands from the Trump administration, including a ban on face masks at protests and a change in oversight of some academic programmes, after the administration said it planned to withhold millions in federal funds.

It is unclear whether the funds will be reinstated, though a lawsuit was filed by some of the faculty members over the cuts.

Columbia was the epicentre of last year’s protests against the war in Gaza and US support for Israel. But it is not the only institution that the US government has targeted.

The administration has warned 60 universities that funding may be cancelled if allegations of antisemitism on campuses are not addressed.

On Tuesday, Trump also terminated $2.2 billion in taxpayer funds to Harvard University after ordering a review of its federal financing. The university has refused to bend to Trump’s demands.

Pro-Palestinian protest activity appears to be increasing at US colleges again, as graduation ceremonies begin and heightened attention is drawn towards campuses.

On Monday, over two dozen protesters were arrested by police in armoured gear at the University of Washington for occupying an engineering building.