NEW YORK — Police officers arrest more than 100 people following a pro-Palestine protest at Columbia University. According to law enforcement officials, protesters were arrested on a preliminary charge of criminal trespass. They’d camped on the lawn in efforts to stand as the “Gaza solidarity Encampment”, according to reports.

Mayor Eric Adams said that the protesters remained on the south lawn of the university for 30 hours before arrests were made. 

“Columbia University’s students have a proud history of protest and raising their voices,” Adams said in a press conference. “Students have a right to free speech, but do not have a right to violate university policies and disrupt learning. 

“We will not be a city of lawlessness,” he added.

While the protest erupted, Columbia President Nemat “Minouche” Shafik was in Washington D.C., testifying before the House Education Committee on anti-Semitism and the institution’s policies to tackle it. Reports state that protesters, including both students and faculty as well as others, congregated on Wednesday morning, assembling tents and signs to stand in solidarity with Palestinians.

As the day went on, protests grew to include both pro-Israel and pro-Palestinians groups.

According to reports, pro-Palestine protesters engaged in verbal confrontations with police officers. A WCBS video show these protesters clashing with police officers, 

Among the protesters was Rep. Ilhan Omar’s daughter Isra Hirsi, who attends Barnard College, a neighboring college of Columbia. CNN reported that an official said that Hirsi is likely to “receive a summons for a criminal trespass charge then be released from custody.”

Hirsi is an organizer with Columbia Students for Justice in Palestine. She shared a statement on the social media platform X that in her three years at that university, she has “never been reprimanded or received any disciplinary warnings.”

“I just received notice that I am one of three students suspended for standing in solidarity with Palestinians facing a genocide,” she said.

New York City police arrested 108 people on Columbia University’s campus after the university’s president asked law enforcement to clear an encampment of pro-Palestinian protesters. – Videograb

While much of the protesting occupied space on Columbia’s campus, Barnard College released its own message:

“Now and always, we prioritize our students’ learning and living in an inclusive environment free from harassment. Given the evolving circumstances at Columbia and in the area, we are working to ensure the safety and well-being of the entire Barnard community.”

Columbia closed the gates to the campus during the protest on Wednesday, according to reports, and only permitted those with Columbia IDs to set foot on the grounds. The protest continued into Thursday, with many of the protesters in support of Palestine remaining on the campus overnight as they camped out.

Reports state that Shafik asked in a letter for the NYPD’s help to remove the protesters.

“The actions of these individuals are in violation of university rules and policies,” the president wrote. “The university provided multiple notices and warnings and informed the encampment participants that they must disperse or face immediate discipline.”

CNN acquired an email that says Shafik announced to students she authorized the NYPD to split up the protests, stating she allowed it “out of an abundance of concern for the safety of Columbia’s campus.”

“I took this extraordinary step because these are extraordinary circumstances,” Shafik wrote. “The individuals who established the encampment violated a long list of rules and policies.”

To make it clear to protesters, reports state that police officers made announcements to the crowds via bullhorns that if they did not leave they would be arrested. In response, Columbia students were reported shouting “shame on you” and “the students united will never be defeated.”

CNN witnessed a group of nearly 200 protesters moving to a new area to continue the protest. About two blocks away from Columbia, NYPD’s staging site to manage further plight, officers lined the street with helmets and batons around the group.

Student Layla Saliba condemned the breaking up of the protest at a news conference held by Columbia Students for Justice in Palestine outside Columbia University.

‘What happened today at Columbia University was an act of violence towards Arab, Muslim, Palestinian students, Jewish students and just anybody who supports Palestinian liberation,” Saliba said.