National Guard Threat Issued to Columbia Protesters, Students Claim

Columbia University students who refuse to end their protest against Israel's war in Gaza say university officials have threatened to bring in the National Guard and police to sweep their encampment.

It comes after Columbia authorized the New York Police Department to arrest more than 100 pro-Palestinian student demonstrators who had camped out on Columbia's main lawn to protest the war and demand their school divest from companies with ties to Israel.

The student protesters said they would not engage in negotiations with the university "until there is a written that the administration will not be unleashing the NYPD or the National Guard on its students" in a statement shared on X, formerly Twitter, by Columbia's chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine.

"Throughout history, we have seen peaceful protesters violently repressed and attacked by the National Guard: from Black Lives Matter protesters in Ferguson, Missouri, to students protesting the Vietnam War at Kent State in Ohio, who were brutally beaten and murdered for peacefully speaking out against war and destruction," the statement said.

"It is disturbing that Columbia is joining their ranks in history—but we are undeterred in our commitment to Palestinian liberation."

They added: "We will not concede to cowardly threats and blatant intimidation from an administration that continuously acts in bad faith and repeatedly neglects the safety of students."

One of the student protesters, Sofia Ong'ele, said: "I want the University to understand who is at risk here: the lawn is made up of a diverse coalition of predominantly Black, brown and Jewish students at Columbia who are at serious risk of police violence."

A Columbia University spokesperson told Newsweek that university officials are "making important progress with representatives of the student encampment on the West lawn."

The spokesperson said the student protesters have committed to dismantling and removing a significant number of tents, ensuring that those not affiliated with the university will leave, complying with all requirements of the New York Fire Department with respect to activities and safety.

The student protesters have also "taken steps to make the encampment welcome to all and have prohibited discriminatory or harassing language," the university spokesperson said. "In light of this constructive dialogue, the university will continue conversations for the next 48 hours."

Columbia University President Minouche Shafik had earlier announced a midnight deadline for negotiations to dismantle the encampment.

"I very much hope these discussions are successful," Shafik said in a message to the university community on Tuesday night. "If they are not, we will have to consider alternative options for clearing the West Lawn and restoring calm to campus so that students can complete the term and graduate."

Shafik said she supports the right to demonstrate and recognizes that "many of the protesters have gathered peacefully."

But she added that the encampment "raises serious safety concerns, disrupts campus life, and has created a tense and at times hostile environment for many members of our community. It is essential that we move forward with a plan to dismantle it."

Gov. Kathy Hochul, who visited the university campus and met with university officials on Monday, told reporters on Tuesday that she currently has no plans to call in the National Guard to respond to the protests.

The school has switched to hybrid for the rest of the semester, amid reports of some Jewish students feeling unsafe on campus. There have been reports of antisemitic incidents outside the university's gates, but the student protesters and Columbia officials have said they involved people not affiliated with the university.

Protests have been happening on college campuses since Israel launched its war in Gaza following Hamas' October 7 attack, which killed about 1,200 people and saw about 250 others taken hostage. Since then, Israel has killed at least 34,000 Palestinians in Gaza, most of them women and children, The Associated Press has reported, citing local health officials.

But what began at Columbia has now turned into a larger movement with students across the nation setting up encampments to protest the war in solidarity with the students at Columbia, occupying buildings and ignoring demands to leave.

The New York Police Department said 133 protesters were taken into custody at nearby New York University on Monday night and have been released with summonses to appear in court on disorderly conduct charges.

Police also arrested 60 protesters, including 47 students, at Yale University on Monday after they refused to leave an encampment on campus.

Nine protesters at the University of Minnesota were arrested after police took down an encampment in front of the library. And on the West Coast, California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt, said its campus would be closed through Wednesday after protesters occupied a building on Monday night. Three protesters were arrested.

The New York Civil Liberties Union has cautioned universities against calling law enforcement on protesters.

"Increasingly, campuses and cops are cracking down on political expression, rushing in police to arrest protesters and authorizing aggressive treatment," said Donna Lieberman, the group's executive director.

"Jewish, Arab, and Muslim students have all expressed fears for their safety on campus. Accounts of antisemitic, anti-Muslim, and anti-Palestinian rhetoric are deeply disturbing," Lieberman added. But officials "should not conflate criticism of Israel with antisemitism or use hate incidents as a pretext to silence political views they oppose."

Update 4/24/24, 3:15 a.m. ET: This article has been updated to add additional information.