There were chaotic moments on the State University of New York at New Paltz campus overnight Thursday as police removed a pro-Palestinian protest encampment.

Protesters had been on site throughout much of the week over the war in Gaza that have overrun college campuses from Los Angeles to New York City recently.

College leaders issued a deadline for the encampment to be removed Thursday night but protesters did not leave. That's when police were called in.

Members of New York State Police and the Ulster County Sheriff's Office forcibly removed protesters on the SUNY New Paltz campus.

State Police said Friday that law enforcement arrested 133 people and charged them with trespassing. Those arrested included a Spectrum News 1 reporter who was working to cover the situation. 

The people arrested, including the reporter, were issued a violation and released after being processed.

Protesters on campus are calling for the college to end its contract with Siemens, a company that has contracts with Israel.

President Darrell Wheeler said he met with students throughout the week, asking them to take down their tents while also advising them that their actions – specifically the presence of the tents – constituted conduct violations.

He met with them again Thursday, offering an ongoing dialogue on the condition the encampment was removed by 7 p.m.

That deadline was extended to 9 p.m. but demonstrators did not disperse and showed no intention of leaving. College officials said that's when they initiated the removal of the encampment by police. 

Wheeler said the safety of students and campus community is paramount and he cannot allow the encampment to remain unchecked.

"Our offers this afternoon and evening were the latest in a series of engagements with the demonstrators that began within an hour of the first tents going up," Wheeler said in a statement. "I personally engaged with the demonstrators within that first hour. From the beginning, our approach has been to reach out to our students in a spirit of support and partnership. We repeatedly expressed hope that we could work together to support the right to free speech while also adhering to campus policies that ensure safety. We repeatedly articulated the potential consequences of the demonstration continuing in defiance of these policies."

Ulster County District Attorney Emmanuel Nneji released a statement on Friday afternoon. 

"I completely support the free exercise of free speech and association. I wholeheartedly encourage the use of these rights to oppose human indignities and atrocities anywhere they occur," Nneji said. "I encourage our young and old, students and all, to abide the law and the rights and interests of others, whether or not they are sympathetic to your cause, as you push for a better today and tomorrow for everyone. Even as we disagree about any particular issue, we must first recognize and accept the right of everyone to be safe, including peaceful protesters and police officers."

On Saturday, students demonstrated once again, while also holding a press conference about the incident.

Students claim they were told their tents needed to come down, but were not told of any other violation. They say they did take them down that night, before police arrived. Students did say some were injured including concussions and bites from police dogs. They also claim an elderly woman was knocked unconscious. Students did also claim that the encampment was bulldozed and some personal belongings either destroyed or thrown away.

Officials on Sunday said that students took down their tents, but did not remove them. They also say students violated campus codes for outdoor camping and for setting up the encampment in an area that is not quote in the "designated free speech zone."

As for the student's personal belongings, campus officials say demonstrators were given warnings from both administration and police. When they chose not to comply, New Paltz officials say anything left at the encampment was considered abandoned and was removed in accordance with public safety best practices.

New Paltz Deputy Mayor Alexandria Wojcik spoke out about the protest and actions taken by law enforcement. 

Wojcik was at the protest, but was not arrested.

"What I witnessed last night on campus was not listening, but instead a horrific display of university-sanctioned brutal police force," Wojcik said in a statement.