Dozens of masked anti-Israel protesters who took over Columbia University’s Butler Library were arrested by NYPD officers Wednesday evening — and Secretary of State Marco Rubio pledged to review the visa status of what he called “pro-Hamas thugs.”
Roughly 80 demonstrators were taken into custody, sources told The Post, after chaos erupted once again at the Ivy League school’s Morningside Heights campus. Two school safety officers were injured during the incident.
Footage obtained by The Post showed protesters being led out in zip ties by officers and escorted to waiting police buses.
“We are reviewing the visa status of the trespassers and vandals who took over Columbia University’s library,” Rubio said on X.
“Pro-Hamas thugs are no longer welcome in our great nation.”
The mob stormed the library by pushing past a security guard at the entrance, disrupting students preparing for their final exams. Once inside, they unfurled large signs across bookshelves, including one labeling the space a “liberated zone” and another naming Bassel al-Araj, a Palestinian activist killed by Israeli forces in 2017 — although his name was misspelled as “Basel.”
Wearing keffiyehs and face coverings, the demonstrators waved Palestinian flags, beat drums, and chanted, “Free, free Palestine.”
Photos showed protesters hanging flags, defacing walls, and marking tables with colored tape. Security guards formed a line to block a much larger group of protesters.
One image shared by a social media account run by Jewish and Israeli students showed “Columbia Will Burn” scrawled on a glass case inside the library.
“Public Safety is currently clearing out all other rooms on the lower floors of Butler Library. Why are the protestors able to continue disrupting the basic function of our university while all other students have to pay the consequences?” posted Eden Yadegar, a Middle East studies major, on X.
Mayor Eric Adams condemned the protesters’ actions and sent the NYPD to intervene.
An international student studying at Butler Library when the chaos began described the scene:
“Somebody hung up a flag, posters, stickers. People were scribbling on the walls, dancing on the tables, singing … chanting like, I don’t know, ‘Free Palestine,’ the classics,” said the student, who chose to remain anonymous.
The standoff lasted about five hours after demonstrators entered the building around 3:30 p.m.
Acting Columbia president Claire Shipman condemned the protesters and said she had no choice but to request NYPD assistance.
“Requesting the presence of the NYPD is not the outcome we wanted, but it was absolutely necessary to secure the safety of our community,” Shipman said.
She stressed that disruptions would not be tolerated, especially during finals, and said the violence, antisemitism, and other forms of hate seen during the protest violate university rules and values. She also noted that some of the participants likely had no ties to the university.
At one point, some protesters tried to leave voluntarily but were stopped by campus security, who demanded they show ID before exiting, according to the international student.
Mayor Adams confirmed that Columbia officials asked the NYPD to remove trespassers and reiterated that the city will “never tolerate lawlessness.”
