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Eric Adams issues warning amid anti-Israel protest at Columbia University: ‘Walk away from this situation now’
Amid the ongoing protests, Mayor Eric Adams warned that "outside agitators" would be removed from campus
Dozens of police in riot gear were seen entering a building held by pro-Palestinian protesters at Columbia University on Tuesday, April 30. Amid the ongoing protests, Mayor Eric Adams warned that "outside agitators" would be removed from campus.
Earlier in the day, Adams demanded that students at an encampment leave immediately. He urged the students’ parents to ask them to leave, adding that “external actors’’ have taken over the protest and need to be removed.
“I’ve been saying for days if not weeks now that what should have been a peaceful protest has basically been co-opted by professional outside agitators,’’ said Adams, according to USA Today. “Walk away from this situation now. We cannot wait until this situation becomes even more serious. This must end now.’’
University leaders believe individuals not affiliated with the university broke into and occupied the building. "Sadly, this dangerous decision followed more than a week of what had been productive discussions" with student protesters, they said. "The decision to reach out to the NYPD was in response to the actions of the protesters, not the cause they are championing. We have made it clear that the life of campus cannot be endlessly interrupted by protesters who violate the rules and the law.”
‘NYPD presence in our neighborhood endangers our entire community’
The NYPD reportedly entered the campus after receiving a notice from Columbia authorising them to take action. As crowds and police massed in the area, the American Association of University Professors, Columbia University Chapter said in a statement, “At this hour, the NYPD is massing on barricaded streets outside the gates of Columbia University. Columbia faculty have spent the day offering our help to defuse the situation on Columbia’s campus and have been rebuffed or ignored. We have been locked out of our campus and have demanded to be allowed back in . . . This is not new. Columbia faculty have attempted for the past two weeks to intervene in the situation, only to be shut out by senior University leadership."
"NYPD presence in our neighborhood endangers our entire community. Armed police entering our campus places students and everyone else on campus at risk,” the statement added.
