Dozens of pro-Palestinian protesters taken into custody after demonstration at Columbia University library

By Dalia Faheid, Jillian Sykes, CNN

(CNN) — Dozens of people were taken into custody by the New York Police Department at Columbia University after a pro-Palestinian protest in an area of the main library on campus Wednesday.

The large demonstration comes as universities including Columbia face the threat of funding cuts from the Trump administration, which has canceled hundreds of international student visas following the wave of protests against Israel’s war in Gaza that swept campuses last year.

Columbia University officials asked the NYPD for help Wednesday night securing Butler Library “due to the number of individuals participating in the disruption inside and outside of the building, a large group of people attempting to force their way into Butler Library creating a safety hazard, and what we believe to be the significant presence of individuals not affiliated with the University,” acting university President Claire Shipman said in a statement.

At least 80 people were taken into custody, the Associated Press reported, citing the police, though it is unclear how many of those people came from the protest inside the library building.

Charges are pending against the individuals, the NYPD said earlier. It’s unclear what charges they may face.

CNN has reached out to the NYPD for further details.

Columbia had earlier said there was a “disruption” in reading room 301 of Butler Library – about two days before final exams are scheduled to begin at the university. Protesters entered the room around 3:15 p.m. ET, CNN affiliate WABC reported.

Two university safety officers were injured during a “crowd surge” when individuals attempted to enter the library, Shipman said. No details were available on the nature of their injuries.

Video from inside the library earlier Wednesday shows public safety officers confronting protesters, who were being blocked and pushed from the library doors as some yell, “let them out!” “Stop! You’re hurting me!” one protester is heard shouting.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams said on X around 7 p.m. ET that “NYPD is entering the campus to remove individuals who are trespassing.”

“At the direct request of Columbia University, the NYPD responded to an ongoing situation on campus where individuals have occupied a library and are trespassing,” an NYPD spokesperson said in a statement to CNN. “Multiple individuals who did not comply with verbal warnings by the NYPD to disperse were taken into custody.”

Videos from the scene showed officers escorting at least 15 people from the building in zip ties and taking them to an NYPD bus down the block. Officers with crowd control gear, including riot helmets and batons, are seen as the crowd chants “Free Palestine.”

In one video, at least one public safety officer bent an individual over what appears to be a desk, handcuffing them. Another person assisting with the detainment approached the person recording the video, saying “Back up!”

Protesters – who are asking for the university to divest from companies that have ties to Israel – called for the library to be renamed the “Basel Al-Araj Popular University,” according to a Substack post from Columbia University Apartheid Divest. Al-Araj, a Palestinian activist, was killed in an Israeli raid in 2017.

“The flood shows that as long as Columbia funds and profits from imperialist violence, the people will continue to disrupt Columbia’s profits and legitimacy,” the group said.

It’s unclear whether all the demonstrators at the library Wednesday are affiliated with the group. CNN has reached out to Columbia and the student organization for more information.

The demonstration comes about a year after pro-Palestinian protesters at Columbia University initiated a wave of demonstrations at college campuses across the country that culminated in encampments and mass arrests. Protesters in 2024 barricaded inside Hamilton Hall, calling for it to be renamed “Hind’s Hall,” after a 5-year-old girl who was killed by Israeli tank fire while in her family’s car in Gaza.

It also comes the same day that the House Education and Workforce Committee questioned three university presidents on antisemitism – reminiscent of a similar congressional hearing in April 2024 when former Columbia President Nemat “Minouche” Shafik testified.

Officers repeatedly asked demonstrators to identify themselves and leave the building, though none have agreed to do so, Shipman said. The demonstrators were told they would be in violation of university rules and face possible arrest for trespassing if they didn’t disperse, Shipman added. Individuals not involved in the protest were able to exit the library, the university said.

“While this is 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 university said. “These disruptions of our campus and academic activities will not be tolerated.”

The university has stated that those found in violation of university rules and policies “will face disciplinary consequences” during the ongoing demonstration.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said she has been briefed on the situation and is “grateful to public safety officials for keeping students safe.”

On Wednesday night, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said: “We are reviewing the visa status of the trespassers and vandals who took over Columbia University’s library.” It’s unclear whether any of the protesters are international students. CNN has reached out to the State Department for more information.

Pressure from the Trump administration mounts

Numerous college campuses – including Columbia – have in recent months been under intense pressure from the Trump administration after it threatened their funding if they don’t comply with his policy demands and revoked hundreds of student visas as part of a vast immigration crackdown.

In March, the administration said it was canceling $400 million worth of grants and contracts to Columbia University because of what it considers the school’s failure to quash antisemitism on campus. The administration demanded several changes, including the university enforce its disciplinary policies, implement rules for protests, ban masks, announce a plan to hold student groups accountable, empower its law enforcement and review its Middle East studies programs.

Columbia University in March then announced a series of new policies, including restrictions on demonstrations.

Students involved in demonstrations against Israel’s war in Gaza were also targeted by the administration. International Columbia University students Mohsen Mahdawi and Mahmoud Khalil, both of whom were involved in last spring’s protests, were detained by the administration as it threatened to deport them.

Mahdawi was hoping to begin the final step to becoming a US citizen when he was taken away in handcuffs last month. The lawful permanent resident has been an outspoken critic of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza and organized Columbia campus protests until March 2024. Mahdawi was recently released on bond.

Khalil, a lawful permanent resident who co-founded the Palestinian Student Union at Columbia with Mahdawi, was one of the lead negotiators at last year’s pro-Palestinian demonstrations at the university. He faces deportation after being detained in March.

University officials in April warned against a repeat of encampments seen on campus last year. “We want to clearly communicate that camping and encampments on Columbia’s campuses are prohibited by University Policy,” the university’s public safety department said in a statement. Anyone violating that rule could have their access to areas of campus restricted, Columbia said. And those who refuse to disperse could face “removal from campus and possible arrest.”

About a year after a wave pro-Palestinian demonstrations spread through campuses across the country, the presidents of Haverford College, DePaul and California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo testified on Wednesday about reports of antisemitism on their campuses.

Multiple times during the hearing, which turned tense at moments, the president of Haverford College was pressed by Republican members of the committee for specifics on methods of discipline and investigated incidents. It often ended with Wendy Raymond declining to talk about “individual cases,” frustrating Republican members of the committee, who said the university’s federal funding could be jeopardized.

“Respectfully, president of Haverford, many people have sat in this position who are no longer in their positions as presidents of the university because of their failure to answer straightforward questions,” Rep. Elise Stefanik said.

This story has been updated with new information.

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CNN’s Emma Tucker, Holly Yan, Hanna Park, Yash Roy, Julianna Bragg, Joel Williams, Omar Jimenez, Polo Sandoval and Gloria Pazmino contributed to this report.