Pro-Palestinian protesters wearing masks and keffiyehs clashed with security guards and police Wednesday after staging a protest inside Columbia University's main library, and the university's president said the NYPD entered the campus to "assist in securing the building."

At least a dozen protesters were escorted out of the library and onto an NYPD bus. Police left the scene before 9 p.m., with all protesters cleared from the library.

Videos and photos shared on social media showed dozens of protesters pushing past campus security officers and racing into the building. The group then hung Palestinian flags and other banners on bookshelves in an ornate reading room. Some also appeared to have scrawled “Columbia will burn” across framed pictures.

What You Need To Know

  • Pro-Palestinian protesters wearing masks and keffiyehs clashed with security guards and police Wednesday after staging a protest inside Columbia University's main library

  • Videos and photos shared on social media showed dozens of protesters pushing past campus security officers and racing into the building

  • Around 7 p.m., Claire Shipman, the acting president of Columbia University, issued a statement saying officials believe the protest includes a "significant presence of individuals not affiliated with the University" and requested the assistance of the NYPD
  • Columbia University Apartheid Divest, a pro-Palestinian student group, said "over 100 actionists" had occupied part of Butler Library because it believed the university profited from “imperialist violence.” They claim everyone inside the library is a student

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

Around 7 p.m., Claire Shipman, the acting president of Columbia University, issued a statement saying officials believe the protest includes a "significant presence of individuals not affiliated with the University" and requested the assistance of the NYPD.

"The individuals who disrupted activities in Butler Reading Room 301 still refuse to identify themselves and leave the building. Due to the number of individuals participating in the disruption inside and outside of the building, a large group of people attempting to force their way into Butler Library creating a safety hazard, and what we believe to be the significant presence of individuals not affiliated with the University, Columbia has taken the necessary step of requesting the presence of NYPD to assist in securing the building and the safety of our community," Shipman's statement read.

Shipman said "requesting the presence of the NYPD is not the outcome we wanted, but it was absolutely necessary to secure the safety of our community." Two Columbia public safety officers sustained injuries during a crowd surge when individuals attempted to force their way into the building, according to Shipman.

"Columbia strongly condemns violence on our campus, antisemitism and all forms of hate and discrimination, some of which we witnessed today. We are resolute that calls for violence or harm have no place at our University," she continued.

Columbia University Apartheid Divest, a pro-Palestinian student group, said "over 100 actionists" had occupied part of Butler Library because it believed the university profited from “imperialist violence.” They claim everyone inside the library is a student.

“Repression breeds resistance — if Columbia escalates repression, the people will continue to escalate disruptions on this campus," the group wrote online.

A later social media post to the account CU Apartheid Divest included a statement from the "students inside,” saying they “refuse to go down quietly.”

Another later statement from CUAD included a list of demands, saying, in part, "Since the explosion of the student intifada last spring, Columbia has worked tirelessly to suppress our movement and return to the genocidal status quo."

Their demands included:

  • "Full Financial Divestment from zionist occupation, apartheid, and genocide"
  • "Academic Boycott of all complicit institutions, including the cancellation of the Tel Aviv Global Center"
  • "Cops and ICE Off Our Campus"
  • "End to Columbia's Occupation of Harlem; Return Land to Harlemites and Open the Gates to Community Members"
  • "Amnesty for all students, staff, faculty, and workers targeted by Columbia University's discipline"

"Columbia University is not a paragon of higher education; it is and has always been a neocolonial institution, prioritizing the acquisition of property and investments in war," their statement read.

Mayor Eric Adams posted a statement on the situation to social media confirming that the NYPD was entering the campus.

"We will not tolerate hate or violence in any form in our city," the mayor wrote.

Gov. Kathy Hochul posted about the disruption on social media, saying any "violence, vandalism or destruction of property are completely unacceptable."

Following threats by the Trump administration to its federal funding, Columbia in March announced sweeping policy changes.

Among them, a ban on students wearing masks to conceal their identities and a rule that those protesting on campus must present their identification when asked. The school also said it had hired new public safety officers empowered to make arrests on campus.