HARROWING video shows pro-Palestine protesters using hammers to smash their way through Columbia University buildings, leaving destruction in their paths.
Hundreds of protesters were arrested in New York City last night as fierce demonstrations against the Israel-Hamas War rage on across college campuses nationwide.
On Tuesday, waves of New York Police Department officers dressed in riot gear descended on Columbia's campus after the university's president said it was illegal for pro-Palestine protesters to camp out on the school's private property.
The protesters had refused to leave and started infiltrating closed-off buildings when they were forcibly removed.
Across the country, police were also called to the University of California, Los Angeles after protesters and counterprotesters clashed in a violent on-campus war.
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Encampments are being dismantled at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, the University of Arizona in Tucson, and Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana.
At Columbia, some demonstrators were captured on video breaking into buildings, and disturbing photos released by the university show hammers and shattered glass throughout the historic college grounds.
Crowds of protesters were loaded on buses by police and shipped away from the chaos on Tuesday night, and Columbia President Minouche Shafik said they aren't all affiliated with the school.
Protesters wrapped their heads in keffiyehs, Palestinian scarves, as they called for an end to the violence in the Middle East and divestment from Israel, which means Columbia must sell its investments in companies linked to the nation.
For days, university officials have been wrestling with how to handle the pro-Palestine protests, with some students saying the demonstrations are hindering their studies.
Last night alone over 300 students were arrested at Columbia and the City College of New York campus a mile uptown, according to police.
Cops are processing the arrests to distinguish which rioters were students and who didn't belong on the campuses, New York City Mayor Eric Adams said Wednesday.
Despite the arrests, more encampments are being set up at schools like New York City's Fordham University, University of Texas at Dallas, and Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey.
CAMPUS CHAOS
Lawmakers are weighing the power of free speech as they decide whether the pro-Palestine protests are creating an unsafe environment for Jewish students.
A bombshell letter written by 21 House Democrats asked Columbia officials to either disband "anti-Israel, anti-Jewish activists on campus" or resign, Axios reported Monday.
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Meanwhile, high-profile politicians have visited campuses to show their support for the protests.
On Friday, Representative Alexandria Ocasio Cortez and Jamaal Bowman, both from New York, both made appearances.
"The provocative images painted by Republicans and antisemitic white supremacist platforms could not be further from the truth," Bowman wrote in a statement.
However, some protesters have been reported saying Zionists do not deserve to live, or threatened terrorist attacks at schools, The New York Times reported.
"The First Amendment guarantees freedom of speech and assembly, but not freedom to harass and intimidate other students," the letter written by House Democrats reads.
"It is clear to us that the university has allowed the encampment to create an environment that appears to violate its legal obligations to protect all students from discrimination and harassment."
WAR RAGES ON
The Israel Defense Force has struck back with a vicious intensity since Palestinian terrorist group Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, resulting in the deaths of nearly 1,160 people.
As of March, an estimated 34,000 people were killed in Gaza, which includes journalists, humanitarian aid workers, and United Nations relief agents, according to health officials.
In Israel, an estimated 1,410 people have died in the bloodshed.
Earlier this week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made a solemn vow to invade an already-battered Gaza city filled with refugees.
As Israel's forces press on, pressure is mounting to come to a cease-fire deal that would see the release of hostages.
As of Wednesday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was meeting with Netanyahu to negotiate a deal.
