New York police have entered Columbia University and arrested protesters barricaded inside a building who have been calling on the New York school to divest itself from companies associated with Israel.

New York

New York police recently made arrests at Columbia University following a significant presence at the academic institution. The law enforcement officers entered the university to address protesters barricaded inside a building. The demonstrators were part of a pro-Palestinian group calling for the university to divest from companies associated with Israel. This action unfolded after the protesters had taken over Hamilton Hall, an academic building on the Columbia campus.

The scene described as intense by witnesses has since calmed, with streets previously filled with police and emergency vehicles now cleared. The NYPD deployed buses to transport the presumably arrested demonstrators away from the location. Reports suggest that Hamilton Hall, along with an encampment within the university grounds that had been established for nearly two weeks, has been entirely cleared by the police. 

This operation involved a large-scale police presence, encompassing various entrances to Columbia's expansive campus, including a principal gate on Broadway. The full extent of the arrests and the specifics of the police action remain unconfirmed, pending official statements from the NYPD and Columbia University officials. The university, covering a vast area in New York, witnessed significant police activity in response to the protest aimed at influencing its financial relationships.



Police enter Columbia University, arrest protesters

A very intense night, Adrienne. I mean, right now, the place is almost completely cleared. I want to almost show you this empty street that just half an hour ago, an hour ago, was full of police and emergency vehicles, demonstrators who had been put into this barricaded area where Sean and I are standing. They've also cleared the space. What we've been seeing over the last hour are NYPD buses drive by, some of them carrying those demonstrators, presumably arrested demonstrators, because what we're hearing right now is reports that Hamilton Hall, this building right here, which is an academic building on campus that was taken over by pro-Palestinian protesters last night, that's been completely cleared out. That massive NYPD emergency unit vehicle that looked like a military vehicle was up against that building. That has also cleared out. We're also hearing reports that the encampment inside campus that's been there for almost two weeks now, that's been cleared out by police. And we have been standing here for the last two hours, just across the street from the Columbia University gates, but this is just one of the entrances into the university. This is a massive campus that takes up many, many blocks. And there are many entrances here where there were police officers blocking those areas, including the other big gate over on Broadway, which is right across. If you go into the campus and cross it, that's another main gate. What we've just been seeing here is some of the activity that we know happened all around this massive campus. We don't have definitive numbers on arrests. We witnessed some of them, but we'll have to wait to hear officially from NYPD about exactly what transpired tonight. And we'll wait to hear from Columbia University officials about what the next steps are.

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