Pro-Palestinian demonstrators clash with security guards at Columbia University

NYPD officers remove mask-clad protesters from Columbia University library after pro-Palestinian demonstration, sparking controversy and arrests.

Police officers in helmets streamed into Columbia University Wednesday (May 7, 2025) evening to remove a group of mask-clad protesters who staged a Pro-Palestinian demonstration inside the school's main library.

Videos shared on social media show a long line of NYPD officers entering the library hours after dozens of protesters pushed their way past campus security officers, raced into the building and then hung Palestinian flags and other banners on bookshelves in an ornate reading room. Some protesters also appear to have scrawled “Columbia will burn” across framed pictures.

Other videos show campus security officers barring another group of protesters from entering the library, with both sides shoving to try and force the other group aside.

A police spokesperson late Wednesday said the department wasn't able to provide a number for how many were arrested.

Videos shared by a reporter on the scene show more than 30 people being taken away from the library by officers with their hands tied behind their backs. Protesters and other supporters, meanwhile, gather around the metal barriers set up outside the building by police cheering on the detained demonstrators and chanting “Free Palestine.”

The university's acting president, Claire Shipman, said the protesters who had holed up inside a library reading room were asked repeatedly to show identification and to leave, but they refused. The school then requested the NYPD come in “to assist in securing the building and the safety of our community,” she said in a statement Wednesday evening.

Shipman said two university public safety officers sustained injuries as protesters forced their way into the building.