Almost 300 protesters arrested in N.Y.; LAPD on UCLA campus

Police arrested about 300 protesters at Columbia University and the City College of New York, authorities said Wednesday morning, after officers in riot gear entered Columbia’s campus Tuesday night, breaching the Hamilton Hall building occupied by pro-Palestinian protesters.

In Los Angeles, police arrived on the UCLA campus at the school’s request, authorities said early Wednesday, amid clashes between pro-Palestinian protesters and counterprotesters. The Los Angeles Police Department described “multiple acts of violence within the large encampment” on the campus.

Columbia officials asked police to enter the campus, university spokesman Ben Chang said Tuesday night. Minouche Shafik, Columbia’s president, said she asked police to maintain a presence on campus through at least May 17.

New York police arrested more than 280 protesters at Columbia University and the City College of New York, said New York Police Department Commissioner Edward Caban at a Wednesday news conference.

Chief of Patrol John Chell said NYPD has made 282 arrests - 173 at City College and 109 at Columbia.

Caban said university leaders asked the NYPD to help the deteriorating situations on their campuses. He said the charges include trespassing and criminal mischief.

At least 25 protesters were arrested after a “large crowd of demonstrators” marched from Columbia University to the City College campus on Tuesday night, the City University of New York system said.

Los Angeles Police Department officers have arrived on the UCLA campus, L.A. Mayor Karen Bass tweeted early Wednesday, amid clashes between pro-Palestinian protesters and counterprotesters there.

“The violence unfolding this evening at UCLA is absolutely abhorrent and inexcusable,” she said.

The LAPD tweeted that it was responding to UCLA’s request for assistance “due to multiple acts of violence within the large encampment on their campus.”

Photos also showed California Highway Patrol officers on the scene early Wednesday.

On Tuesday, UCLA Chancellor Gene Block said the university was increasing the security presence on campus, citing an “unauthorized physical encampment” on a part of the school’s Royce Quad. He said the group consisted of “members of the UCLA community and others unaffiliated with our campus.”

“Many of the demonstrators, as well as counter-demonstrators who have come to the area, have been peaceful in their activism. But the tactics of others have frankly been shocking and shameful,” Block wrote, citing “instances of violence completely at odds with our values” and students being physically blocked from parts of the campus.

With the 282 arrests Tuesday night at Columbia University and City College New York, there have now been over 1,600 people arrested at pro-Palestine campus protests in the past two weeks, according to a Washington Post tally of news reports and police and university statements.