New York City Mayor Eric Adams on Wednesday denounced the goings-on at Columbia University, where a group of masked anti-Israel protesters overran Butler Library.
According to video footage posted online, the activists forced their way past a security guard stationed at the library’s entrance.
Once inside, the protestors draped banners over bookshelves, including one declaring the library a “liberated zone.”
The group chanted slogans such as “free, free Palestine,” accompanied by drumming and rhythmic clapping. Protesters also donned keffiyehs and affixed Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) flags throughout the library.
In a statement denouncing the protest, Adams noted that the NYPD entered the campus to remove individuals who are trespassing at the request of Columbia University.
"As I've said repeatedly, New York City will always defend the right to peaceful protest, but we will never tolerate lawlessness. To our Jewish New Yorkers, especially the students at Columbia who feel threatened or unsafe attending class because of these events: know that your mayor stands with you and will always work to keep you safe," he declared.
"To parents of students protesting: call your children and make clear that breaking the law is wrong and they should exit the building immediately. To those protesting on campus who do not attend Columbia: exit the campus immediately or you will be arrested. We will not tolerate hate or violence in any form in our city," added Adams.
The protest comes as the university has remained on edge in recent weeks amid speculation that demonstrators would attempt to rebuild the encampments that dominated Columbia’s campus last spring.
Tensions have further escalated as Columbia navigates sensitive negotiations with the Trump administration, which recently decided to withhold $400 million in federal funding from the university unless it demonstrates meaningful action against antisemitism on campus.
Weeks after the Trump administration announced the funding cut to Columbia, the university announced a series of reforms, including placing the university’s Middle East studies department under new oversight, revising protest and student discipline policies, and adopting a new definition of antisemitism.
Columbia also pledged to promote “intellectual diversity” by expanding its Institute for Israel and Jewish Studies.
On Tuesday, however, Columbia announced a significant reduction in staff, cutting approximately 180 positions, citing the administration’s federal funding cuts. The majority of those affected are employed in academic research roles tied to the now-threatened federal grants.