300 arrested on two New York campuses at pro-Palestinian demonstrations

Nearly 300 people were arrested by the New York City police on Tuesday (local time) at pro-Palestine demonstrations on Columbia University and City College campuses, Mayor Eric Adams said. Police also cleared Columbia’s Hamilton Hal, which was occupied by the protesting students.

The protesters were arrested after Columbia University called in the New York police to clear the protesters from campus, nearly two weeks after they had set up a pro-Palestinian encampment, CBC news reported.

As per reports, as many as 109 protesters were arrested at Columbia and 173 at nearby City College. However, it is unclear how many of the arrested were students.

The Columbia spokesperson, in a statement said, police entered the campus after the university requested it.

“After the University learned overnight that Hamilton Hall had been occupied, vandalised, and blockaded, we were left with no choice. The decision to reach out to the NYPD was in response to the actions of the protesters, not the cause they are championing. We have made it clear that the life of campus cannot be endlessly interrupted by protesters who violate the rules and the law,” the University said.

The New York Mayor, following the police action, said that there is “no place for acts of hate in our city” and blamed people who are “professionals at radicalising young children” for escalating the situation.

“We cannot allow what should be a lawful protest to turn into a violent spectacle that saves and serves no purpose… There is a movement to radicalise young people, and I’m not going to wait until it’s done and all of a sudden acknowledge the existence of it. This is a global problem that young people are being influenced by those who are professionals at radicalising our children,” the Mayor said.

POLICE DEPLOYED AT UCLA AFTER CLASHES

Meanwhile, at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), duelling groups of protesters clashed, grappling in fistfights and shoving, kicking, and using sticks to beat one another, news agency AP reported.

Witness footage from the scene, verified by news agency Reuters, showed people wielding sticks or poles to attack wooden boards being used as makeshift barricades to protect the pro-Palestinian protesters.

Police in riot gear entered the campus following the clash and the violence was quelled.