Masked demonstrators take over Columbia University’s Butler Library, disrupting students preparing for final exams. Protesters declare the library a “liberated zone,” prompting university condemnation.
Columbia University’s Butler Library was overrun on Wednesday by a group of masked anti-Israel demonstrators, disrupting students during the critical final exam period, The New York Post reported.
According to video footage posted online, the activists forced their way past a security guard stationed at the library’s entrance. Despite the guard’s attempts to prevent the entry, he was quickly overwhelmed as dozens pushed through.
Once inside, the protesters 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.
Photos circulating online show slogans marked on the walls and colored tape placed across study desks. A handful of security personnel formed a barrier in an effort to contain the much larger crowd.
The university responded shortly after the incident began, with a statement from the Office of Public Affairs noting that Columbia’s Public Safety Team had intervened. Protesters reportedly refused to identify themselves, which, according to the university, could lead to legal consequences.
“It is completely unacceptable that some individuals are choosing to disrupt academic activities as our students are studying and preparing for final exams,” the university said in its statement, as quoted by The New York Post. “These disruptions of our campus and academic activities will not be tolerated. Individuals found to be in violation of University Rules and policies will face disciplinary consequences.”
Students and staff were advised to avoid the area surrounding the library.
Police later entered the campus at the request of Columbia, arresting at least 40 protesters. Two security officers were hurt during the “crowd surge”, officials said.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio denounced the protesters and said, “We are reviewing the visa status of the trespassers and vandals who took over Columbia University’s library.”
“Pro-Hamas thugs are no longer welcome in our great nation,” he added.
The university has remained on edge in recent weeks amid speculation that protest groups 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.
