Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the US government is reviewing visa status for “trespassers and destroyers who took over the university’s libraries.”
Several people were arrested on May 7th at a pro-Palestinian demonstration at Columbia University in New York.
Dozens of protesters in the reading room at Columbia University’s main library on Wednesday stood at the table, pounding drums and spreading the spread pro-Palestinian flag.
Social media videos and photos are mostly mask-wearing protesters, who say “Strike for Gaza” and “Freeing Zone” under the chandelier in the Lawrence A. Wine Reading Room at Butler Library.
The New York Police Department (NYPD) responded to the incident at the request of the university.
“The NYPD responded to the ongoing situation on campuses where individuals were occupying libraries and trespassing,” a department spokesperson said in an emailed statement to NTD, sister media of the Epoch Times. “Several individuals have been detained for failing to comply with the oral warning of disbandment by the NYPD.”
A police spokesman said late Wednesday that the department was unable to provide numbers on the number of people arrested.
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“These actions are outrageous,” Shipman added, stressing that the university is condemning violence on campus, anti-Semitism, all forms of hatred and discrimination.
People will take part in a pro-Palestinian protest at the Butler Library on the Columbia University campus in New York on May 7, 2025. Ryan Murphy/Reuters
Social media accounts for Colombian Jews and Israeli students have released footage of the clash between protesters and officials.
Earlier this year, the Trump administration threatened to cut federal funding at universities suspected of failing to address anti-Semitic activities on campus.
In March, it attracted $400 million in research grants and other funding on the handling of university Prostin protests against Israeli military campaigns in Gaza, launched in response to the attacks by terrorist group Hamas against Israel in October 2023.
According to Education Secretary Linda McMahon, universities must comply with all federal anti-discrimination laws if they wish to receive federal funds. McMahon said Columbia has long waived its obligations to Jewish students on campus.
“As a democracy with constitutional protections for the individual rights of all citizens, and Israel shares values, interests and aspirations with us,” the statement said. “Colombia benefits from its connections with Israeli faculty, students, research and technology.”
Reuters contributed to this report.
