Nearly half of anti-Israel protesters arrested at Columbia, City College weren’t students

Nearly half of the protesters arrested at the Columbia University and City College campuses during violent anti-Israel unrest weren’t students, police sources said Thursday — a day after Mayor Eric Adams warned “outside agitators” were radicalizing youngsters.

Of the 282 protesters cuffed and hauled away during a massive NYPD operation late Tuesday, 134 of them had zero affiliation with either school, according to law enforcement sources.

Hizzoner, who has repeatedly blamed this week’s on-campus chaos on professionals with a history of fueling non-peaceful protests, also touted the initial figures, saying more than 40% of the initial arrests were “outsiders.”

“What was given to me by my team, a preliminary review of the numbers, just the beginning process of analyzing, but it appears though that over 40% of those who participated in Columbia and CUNY were not from the school and they were outsiders,” Adams told NPR during a media blitz.

The breakdown emerged after Adams repeatedly stated that agitators had descended on Columbia in the lead up to Tuesday’s operation that saw cops storm the Morningside Heights campus to oust a destructive mob that had illegally taken over the Hamilton Hall academic building.

“There were individuals on the campus who should not have been there,” the mayor insisted Wednesday. “They were people who are professionals and we saw evidence of training.