Protesters at Columbia University ramped up their protest of the Israeli-Hamas War by taking over a building on campus early Tuesday morning.
The hundreds of students stormed Hamilton Hall in Manhattan at about 1 a.m. to continue their anti-Israel protests, per Fox News. Hamilton Hall houses dean and other senior offices.
The protesters started “moving metal gates to barricade the doors, blocking entrances with wooden tables and chairs, and zip-tying doors shut,” according to the Columbia Spectator, the student newspaper.
The protesters covered security cameras with black trash bags and tape and shuttered blinds.
Protesters locked down the building in less than five minutes and no one was allowed to enter after that.
When inside Hamilton Hall, protesters put up a banner that said “Hind’s Hall.” The gesture was in memory of Hind Rajab, a 6-year-old Palestinian who killed by the Israeli military in Gaza.
Other students formed a human barricade in front of the hall and chanted “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” and “Palestine will live forever.”
The students want the university to agree to three things — reduce financial support for Israel, provide more transparency in its investments and pardon the students who have taken part in the protests, per Fox News.
A press release from Columbia University Apartheid Divest, posted on X, formerly Twitter, at 2:07 a.m., said the protesters were an “autonomous group.”
— CU Apartheid Divest (@ColumbiaBDS) April 30, 2024
OFFICIAL CUAD PRESS RELEASE: Occupation of Hamilton Hall pic.twitter.com/VHpyjtjPjU
According to the Columbia Spectator, officers from the New York Police Department were on standby outside of campus and would enter campus if they “hear that someone’s gotten hurt.”
The outlet also reported protesters started chanting “no divestment, no commencement” at about 2:23 a.m.
There were at least three facilities workers in the building when the protesters entered it. They were allowed to leave at about 12:40 a.m. One of the workers said, “They held me hostage.”
Members of the mob also allegedly covered the cameras inside the facility.
This latest move came on the heels of the university starting to suspend students who refused to leave the encampment, which started on April 18.
