NYPD arrests pro-Palestinian demonstrators at NYU

A pro-Palestinian protest broke out at New York University on Monday, prompting arrests by New York police as protests take over college campuses across the country.

The New York Police Department responded Monday night to NYU’s campus at the request of school administrators after protesters set up an encampment earlier in the day, a police spokesperson confirmed to The Hill.

Multiple people were taken into custody, though the spokesperson could not specify an exact number, as the event is ongoing.

“Given the foregoing and the safety issues raised by the breach, we asked for assistance from the NYPD. The police urged those on the plaza to leave peacefully, but ultimately made a number of arrests,” NYU spokesperson John Beckman said in a statement.

The incident began Monday morning, when about 50 protestors gathered in the plaza in front of NYU’s Stern School of Business without authorization from the university, Beckman said. 

The university closed access to the plaza, put barriers in place, and “made clear” that additional protestors could not join due to the disruption of classes and operations on campus, he added. 

Despite warnings, Beckman said more protesters, many of whom are believed to not be affiliated with NYU, “breached” the barriers in place to join the others. 

Administrators then “witnessed disorderly, disruptive and antagonizing behavior that has interfered with the safety and security of our community,” Beckman said. 

School officials warned demonstrators they would face consequences if they did not leave, and officers moved into the crowd around 8:30 p.m., The New York Times reported.

The arrests come amid ongoing unrest at nearby Columbia University, where protests continued for the sixth day at the center of campus. Hundreds of students are occupying parts of campus, calling for a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war, a halt in U.S. military aid to Israel and the school’s divestment from businesses that profit from the war.

More than 100 demonstrators were arrested last week after Columbia officials authorized the NYPD to take protestors into custody.

Earlier Monday, police arrested dozens of protestors at Yale University as an encampment swelled to several hundred people calling for the school to divest from military weapons manufacturers.

Yale said 47 students received summonses Monday and will be referred for disciplinary action from the school.

The protests, while many reportedly peaceful, have prompted concerns of antisemitic rhetoric and fears over the safety of Jewish students on campus. Several protest groups have pushed back against characterizations of their demonstrations as antisemitic, pointing to the significant portion of demonstrators who are Jewish.

This story was updated at 10:45 p.m. ET