ADDS DETAILS THROUGHOUT
By Michael Hernandez
WASHINGTON (AA) - The New York Police Department (NYPD) cleared a collective of pro-Palestinian students staging a sit-in at Columbia University on Thursday at the request of the school’s President Minouche Shafik.
Video of the incident shared on social media showed uniformed officers led onto campus by NYPD Chief of Patrol John Chell and Deputy Commissioner for Operations Kaz Daughtry.
Police then moved to clear an encampment on the South Lawn of the school's Morningside Heights campus, threatening to arrest anyone who refused to disperse.
"Shame on you," a raucous throng of students can be heard shouting as police entered with dozens of zip ties to take students into custody.
Dozens of students defied the order, sitting on the ground and locking arms. It is unclear how many were arrested but students can be seen being cuffed and led away by police as demonstrators chanted, "The people, united, will never be defeated."
Several students were led to NYPD vans and were transported off campus.
The pro-Palestinian encampment had been set up by students Wednesday after the school had clamped down on previous student demonstrations on campus.
In a letter to NYPD Deputy Commissioner Michael Gerber, Shafik said all of the students who participated in the demonstration were told that they have been suspended and she claimed the sit-in "raises safety concerns for the individuals involved and the entire community."
"I have determined that the encampment and related disruptions pose a clear and present danger to the substantial functioning of the University," the school president wrote. "With great regret, we request the NYPD’s help to remove these individuals."
Isra Hirsi, a Columbia junior and the daughter of US Rep. Ilhan Omar, wrote on X that she was one of the students who was suspended "for standing in solidarity with Palestinians facing a genocide."
"Those of us in Gaza Solidarity Encampment will not be intimidated. we will stand resolute until our demands are met. our demands include divestment from companies complicit in genocide, transparency of @Columbia’s investments and FULL amnesty for all students facing repression," she wrote.