More than 100 people, including Rep. Ilhan Omar's daughter, were arrested on charges of trespassing and issued summonses after protesters set up encampment at Columbia University in New York in support of Gaza, police said. It was issued.
Mayor Eric Adams said after Thursday's arrest that protesters occupied the space on the university's South Lawn for 30 hours. Columbia University asked the NYPD for help and said the students had been suspended and were refusing to leave, police said.
Adams said that while “Columbia students have a proud history of protest and speaking out,” they have no right to violate university policy.
“We're not going to be a lawless city,” Adams said.
Omar's daughter Isra Hirsi, 21, who attends Barnard College in neighboring Manhattan, posted on social media platform He said he was suspended from school for “standing up.”
Hirsi, an organizer with a pro-Palestinian student group, said it was the first time in her three years at New York City Schools that she had been punished for being a student activist.
“We in the Gaza Solidarity encampment will not be threatened,” she wrote.
Police said more than 108 people, including Hirschi, were arrested and issued citations for trespassing. Two of them were also charged with obstruction of government, authorities said.
NYPD Commissioner Edward Caban said the arrested students were peaceful, did not resist and “peacefully said what they wanted to say.”
But about 500 other students left class and surrounded the quad, Cavan said, and continued to yell insults at them, including “we are the KKK.” Video from the scene obtained by NBC News shows the crowd chanting “Shame on you!” However, it does not capture the entire incident.
Columbia University President Nemat “Minoush” Shafik said in a memo to police early Thursday that more than 100 people were occupying the area.
“We have determined that the encampment and related disruption pose a clear and present danger to the substantial functioning of the University,” the memo said.
Shafiq said the protesters committed violations including trespassing, refusing to disperse and damaging campus property.
Shafiq said in a statement Thursday that he authorized police to clear the camp “out of great concern” for safety on campus.
By late Thursday afternoon, police had dismantled the original tent encampment, but protesters had begun constructing a new tent encampment on an adjacent lawn.
“Columbia is committed to allowing members of our community to engage in political expression, within established rules and while respecting the safety of everyone,” the memo said.
Barnard said staff identified the students who were at the encampment on Wednesday and told them to leave or face sanctions. The student, who was still there Thursday morning, has been provisionally suspended, according to the university. The camp was reportedly set up early Wednesday morning.
Bernard would not say how many students had been suspended or confirm that Hirschi was among them. He did not say how long the suspension would last, but said the suspension of students who stay will continue.
“Our priority, now and always, is for our students to learn and live in an inclusive environment free of harassment,” the school said in a memo regarding the suspension.
Hirschi could not be reached for comment.
Omar did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Democrat representing Minnesota is a Somali refugee who made history as one of the first two Muslim-American women elected to Congress.
On Wednesday, Omar strongly accused Shafiq of anti-Semitism during a congressional hearing and questioned Shafiq about protests on campus.
Omar told Shafiq that he was “appalled” to learn that Columbia University suspended six students this month for participating in a pro-Palestinian panel event on campus.
“Recently, there have been attacks on students' democratic rights across the country,” Omar said.
At a press conference by Columbia Students for Justice in Palestine in front of the residence of Columbia University President Minoush Shafik, student Leila Saliba denounced the camp's removal.
“What happened today at Columbia University was an act of violence against Arabs, Muslims, Palestinian students, Jewish students, and anyone who supports the liberation of Palestine,” she said.
Mr. Saliba, of the School of Social Work, and others criticized Mr. Shafiq, including in his testimony before Congress on Wednesday. She said her arrest was part of an effort on campus to attack people with pro-Palestinian views.
Tensions over free speech have erupted on some U.S. college campuses since the war between Hamas and Israel began in October.
This week, the University of Southern California canceled a Muslim student's valedictorian speech due to safety concerns. Last week, a UC Berkeley professor confronted a Muslim student at a law school alumni dinner.