Outside Agitators Radicalized Columbia Students, Mayor Eric Adams Says - 'Nothing Peaceful About Barricading Buildings'

On Tuesday night, the NYPD took decisive action against the anti-Israel agitators that have been occupying Columbia University's Morningside campus in recent weeks. The police operation, which saw hundreds of officers descend on the Ivy League campus, was in conjunction with a similar crackdown at the City College of New York (CUNY). Altogether, the campuses saw a total of 282 arrests, with many of them being non-students who often led the demonstrations.

During a press conference on Wednesday, Mayor Eric Adams (D) revealed that the seizure of Hamilton Hall at Columbia "was led by individuals who are not affiliated with the university." While police have yet to ascertain how many of those arrested on Tuesday were outside agitators, they did reveal that 109 arrests were made at the Ivy League and 173 were made at CUNY, per Axios. Following the arrests, NYPD cleared the tent encampment erected by demonstrators in recent weeks.

"Students have a right to protest, and free speech is the cornerstone of our society," the mayor said during the press conference. "As our major concern, there were those who were never concerned about free speech. They were concerned about chaos. It was about outside agitators hijacking peaceful protests and influencing students to escalate. There's nothing peaceful about barricading buildings, destroying property, or dismantling security cameras. We cannot allow what should have been a peaceful protest to turn into a violent spectacle that serves no purpose."

The seizure of Hamilton Hall on Tuesday was the last straw for Columbia University President Minouche Shafik, who wrote in a letter to the NYPD, "The events on campus last night have left us no choice. With the support of the University's Trustees, I have determined that the building occupation, the encampments, and related disruptions pose a clear and present danger… and require the use of emergency authority to protect persons and property."

The university had attempted to negotiate with the demonstrators for several weeks but failed to de-escalate the situation as anti-Israel agitators became increasingly violent and their demands of divestment from Israel became more unrealistic. "We regret that protesters have chosen to escalate the situation through their actions," a university statement said. We will not risk the safety of our community or the potential for further escalation."

The situation at Columbia starkly contrasts with other universities nationwide that decided to stand firm in enforcing their rules against agitators who have attempted to occupy campuses. The University of Florida set the standard for dealing with these agitators by making the rules and the consequences for breaking those rules well known. Columbia's attempts to appease the demonstrators ended in disgrace and have irreparably harmed the institution's reputation for years. While outside agitators were present at the campus, the students involved should be dealt with harshly to prevent such disruptive behavior from ever taking place again.

Mayor Eric Adams confirms outside "professionals" are behind the Columbia pro-Hamas occupations.

Reminder: Soros-backed Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) and US Campaign for Palestinian Rights (USCPR), also Soros-backed, have organized multiple encampments across the… pic.twitter.com/eTVrN7JBko

— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) May 1, 2024