NYPD officers arrest Columbia protesters after school asks for help ending occupation

The pro-Palestinian demonstration that paralyzed Columbia University ended in dramatic fashion, with police carrying riot shields bursting into a building that protesters took over the previous night and making dozens of arrests. On the other side of the country, clashes broke out early Wednesday between duelling groups at the University of California, Los Angeles.

NYPD officers acted after the school's president said there was no other way to ensure safety and restore order on campus and sought help from the department. The occupation of the building came as demonstrators spread out from an encampment elsewhere on the Ivy League school's grounds.

School officials asked law enforcement to stay on the Columbia campus through May 17, the end of the university's commencement events.

Columbia's protests began earlier this month and kicked off demonstrations that now span from California to Massachusetts. As May commencement ceremonies near, administrators face added pressure to clear protesters.

The scene unfolded shortly after 9 p.m. ET as police, wearing helmets and carrying zip ties and riot shields, massed at the Ivy League university's entrance. Officers breached Hamilton Hall, an administration building on campus that demonstrators had occupied more than 12 hours earlier, to clear out the structure.

The move came hours after NYPD brass said officers wouldn't enter the campus without the administration's request or an imminent emergency. Police spokesperson Carlos Nieves said he had no immediate reports of any injuries

"After the university learned overnight that Hamilton Hall had been occupied, vandalized, and blockaded, we were left with no choice," the school's statement said, adding that school public safety personnel were forced out of the building and one facilities worker was "threatened."

"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."

In a letter to senior police officials, Columbia president Minouche Shafik asked that police remove protesters from the occupied building and a nearby tent encampment "with the utmost regret."

Protesters were seeking three demands from Columbia: divestment from companies supporting Israel's government, greater transparency in university finances, and amnesty for students and faculty disciplined over the protests.

Shafik said earlier this week that Columbia would not divest from finances in Israel. Instead, she offered to invest in health and education in Gaza and make Columbia's direct investment holdings more transparent.

In her letter released on Tuesday, Shafik said the Hamilton Hall occupiers had vandalized University property, and that encampment protesters were suspended for trespassing. The eight-story, neo-classical building has been the site of various student occupations dating back to the 1960s.

The nationwide campus protests began at Columbia in response to Israel's offensive in Gaza after Hamas launched a deadly attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7. 

More than 1,000 protesters have been arrested over the last two weeks on campuses in states including Texas, Utah, Virginia, North Carolina, New Mexico, Connecticut, Louisiana, California and New Jersey — some after confrontations with police in riot gear.