A pro-Palestinian protest erupted at New York University on Monday, leading to arrests by the New York Police Department as protests swept across college campuses nationwide.
A police spokesperson confirmed to The Hill that the NYPD responded to NYU’s campus at the request of school administrators after protesters established an encampment earlier in the day. Multiple individuals were taken into custody, though the exact number is unknown as the situation continues.
According to NYU spokesperson John Beckman, the incident began Monday morning when approximately 50 protesters gathered in the plaza in front of NYU’s Stern School of Business without authorization from the university.
NYU Gaza protest arrests (Credits: ABC News)
The university closed access to the plaza, put up barriers, and clarified that additional protesters could not join due to disrupting classes and campus operations. Despite warnings, more protesters, many believed to be unaffiliated with NYU, breached the barriers to joining the others.
Administrators then witnessed disorderly, disruptive, and antagonizing behavior that interfered with the safety and security of the community, Beckman said. School officials warned demonstrators that they would face consequences if they did not leave, and officers moved into the crowd around 8:30 p.m., according to The New York Times.
The arrests come despite ongoing unrest at nearby Columbia University, where protests continued for the sixth day at the center of campus. Hundreds of students are occupying parts of campus, calling for a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war, a halt in U.S. military aid to Israel, and the school’s divestment from businesses that profit from the war.
Protesters with flares march on NYPD HQ (Credits: New York Post)
More than 100 demonstrators were arrested last week after Columbia officials authorized the NYPD to take protesters into custody. Earlier Monday, police detained dozens of protesters at Yale University as an encampment swelled to several hundred people calling for the school to divest from military weapons manufacturers.
Yale reported that 47 students received summonses Monday and will face disciplinary action from the school. The protests, while many are reportedly peaceful, have raised concerns about antisemitic rhetoric and fears for the safety of Jewish students on campus.
Several protest groups have pushed back against characterizations of their demonstrations as antisemitic, pointing out that a portion of demonstrators are Jewish.
