New York City, New York – On May 7, X user Elisha (Lishi) Baker posted a video of Prof. Joe Howley, trying to enter the library of Columbia University, taken by the protestors. He didn’t succeed and left.

Elisha (Lishi) Baker said: “JUST NOW: protesters Columbia asked for ‘faculty mediators to deescalate’ – a ridiculous ask given that they are the escalators.”

“Prof. Joe Howley, a known supporter of this movement, showed up and tried to enter the library. Unbelievable.”

New York police arrested dozens of pro-Palestinian protesters after they occupied part of the main library at Columbia University on Wednesday. Two university security officers were injured when protesters forced their way into Butler Library, according to a statement from the university president, who called the activists’ actions “outrageous.”

Video posted on social media showed chanting protesters entering the library, many wearing keffiyeh headscarves and masks. They were defying a ban from the Trump administration that was imposed after widespread campus demonstrations last year.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the visa statuses of those involved would be reviewed. More than 70 protesters were reportedly arrested, but no one has been charged, and authorities have not given details about who is being held or whether they are in the US on visas.

In a post on social media, the protesters accused the university of “violent repression” and said they had refused to show their IDs to police and campus public safety officers. Rubio described the group as “trespassers and vandals.” He added that “pro-Hamas thugs are no longer welcome in our great nation,” echoing Trump’s justification for his recent crackdown on pro-Palestinian campus protests.

As well as targeting prominent individuals – by revoking hundreds of international student visas and threatening deportations – Trump’s team has also taken direct aim at top-tier US universities, such as Columbia, accusing them of failing to fight antisemitism on campus.

Videos of the latest action at the prestigious New York institution showed protesters vandalizing bookshelves by writing “free Palestine.” Another clip showed public safety officers blocking the library door’s exit and asking those inside to show their Columbia IDs or face arrest, which led to an hours-long standoff.

Claire Shipman, the Columbia president, said she had asked the New York Police Department (NYPD) for assistance, adding that many of the protesters involved in the latest action were not students. “At the direct request of Columbia University, the NYPD is responding to an ongoing situation on campus where individuals have occupied a library and are trespassing,” police confirmed in a post on X.

Ms. Shipman said that while the protest was isolated to one room in the library, “it is completely unacceptable that some individuals are choosing to disrupt academic activities as our students are studying and preparing for final exams.”

Podcast: Play in new window | Download