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Faculty members at Columbia University were seen blocking certain students and press from entering the school's anti-Israel encampment until police were called on Monday as thousands descended on the New York City campus.
Fox News Digital witnessed Avi Weinberg, an economics student at Columbia, leading a small group of his Jewish classmates all trying to enter the encampment on the South Lawn.
However, Columbia faculty, wearing orange high-visibility safety vests with taped "faculty" and "staff" labels on their backs, were seen locking arms as they patrolled who was allowed in.
"Students who have only slept here are allowed in," one woman told the group.
The woman got into a combative exchange with one of the students, insisting she knew who had and hadn't slept in the encampment and refused to let them in. The human chain of faculty then turned their backs to the students, who in turn called the police.
"We have to abide by university policy!" Weinberg shouted. "We should all be able to go on that lawn!"
Faculty refused to answer when asked why the students were not being let on the lawn. Members of the crowd suggested it was unfair that faculty were determining who could and could not go into the area when it is part of the university campus they pay to attend.
Fox News Digital was told that the outlet was not allowed inside, and only student press could access the gated lawn. A local ABC team and several independent reporters were also denied. However, Fox News Digital witnessed a documentary crew and a reporter from Al Jazeera reporting inside the area. Individuals who wore headscarves or waved Palestinian flags were seen moving freely between the encampment and the surrounding campus lawn throughout the day..
Fox News Digital's Nikolas Lanum, Joseph A. Wulfsohn, and Kira Mautone contributed to this update.
A woman walks by a Yale sign reflected in the rainwater on the Yale University campus, Aug. 22, 2021, in New Haven, Conn. (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey, File)
Yale University officials said all protesters at an anti-Israel encampment on Cross Campus chose to leave the area after facing potential suspension and arrest.
On Tuesday morning, Yale issued a final warning to protesters that those participating in the encampment must disperse or "face discipline, including suspension for violating university rules and arrest for trespassing."
"All the protesters chose to leave the encampment, and the university is in the process of clearing tents and other items from the area," officials said in an update.
The threat of arrest came after university administration repeatedly informed protesters that the encampment violated school policies and disrupted academic and university operations.
"As President Salovey outlined in his message to the Yale community on Monday, Yale fully supports peaceful protests and freedom of speech; however, claiming control of our shared space is inconsistent with our principles and values," Yale said.
"The university does not tolerate the violation of its longstanding policies on using on-campus outdoor spaces, postering and chalking, or the use of amplified sound. Yale’s rules on free expression and peaceable assembly exist to ensure that all members of the community have equitable access to the campus and can engage in the full functions of the university."
"Some protesters remain near the area and on nearby streets after leaving the encampment. No arrests have been made this morning," the statement added.
A general view of a University of North Carolina police badge. (Peyton Williams/UNC/Getty Images)
UNC Police detained approximately 30 individuals who refused to leave the anti-Israel encampment at Polk Place after university officials warned protesters may face arrest and other consequences on Tuesday morning.
In an update, UNC-Chapel Hill said police calmly approached the protesters at around 6 a.m. and detained those who refused to leave. The encampment was cleared in under an hour, officials said.
"During that time, the protesters attempted to block the UNC Police vehicles by standing in front of them and throwing items at officers. Polk Place was cleared in approximately 45 minutes. Afterwards, UNC Facilities cleared the area of significant debris," the university said in a statement.
Officials added that after the encampment was cleared, the remaining protesters "escalated their tactics" and attempted to forcibly enter South Building "by pushing officers and refusing to comply with requests from Facilities and UNC Police."
"For the last several months, we have spoken regularly and respectfully with the demonstrators on our campus, consistently supporting their right to assemble and express their views," UNC interim Chancellor Lee Roberts and Provost Christopher Clemens said in the letter to protesters. "We have also clearly communicated the University's long-standing policies on the use of shared public spaces. We have been clear that students and community members can assemble and make their voices heard, but University policies must be followed."
Students with the Gaza Solidarity Encampment block the entrance of Hamilton Hall at Columbia University after taking over it on Tuesday, April 30, 2024 in New York. Columbia Students for Justice in Palestine called for mobilization close to midnight. Students have been occupying part of campus since April 17, calling for the university to divest from institutions that have ties to Israel. (Marco Postigo Storel via AP)
Columbia University officials have limited access to campus after anti-Israel agitators occupied Hamilton Hall and carried furniture and metal barricades into the building.
University spokesman Ben Chang said safety remains the top priority of Columbia's administration in a statement.
"[I]n light of the protest activity, we have asked members of the University community who can avoid coming to the Morningside campus to do so; essential personnel should report to work according to university policy," Chang said.
"Access to campus has been limited to students residing in residential buildings on campus and employees who provide essential services to campus buildings, labs, and residential student life," the statement continues.
"Campus access remains restricted today to CUID-only and essential personnel only as a safety measure, and that includes media access. Media access will be restored when safety conditions change."
In the X post, protesters said they planned to remain at the hall until the university conceded to CU Apartheid Divest's three demands: divestment, financial transparency and amnesty.
The Associated Press contributed to this update.
Police have begun to make arrests at an anti-Israel protest on UNC-Chapel Hill's campus Tuesday, according to local news reports.
Live coverage from WRAL showed officers leading protesters with zip ties around their wrists away from the scene on campus. Police said some of the protesters who were detained Tuesday morning are not UNC students and are not affiliated with the university, according to WRAL.
UNC-Chapel Hill could not confirm how many people were arrested.
At 5:30 a.m., Interim Chancellor Lee H. Roberts and Provost J. Christopher Clemens issued a statement that set a 6 a.m. deadline for protesters assembled in Polk Place to "remove all tents, tables, and other items and depart from the area."
"Failure to follow this order to disperse will result in consequences including possible arrest, suspension from campus and, ultimately, expulsion from the university, which may prevent students from graduating," Roberts and Clemens said.
The statement reaffirmed the university's commitment to free speech but said "outside activists" have violated school policies by trespassing into classroom buildings overnight.
"We must consider the safety of all of our students, faculty and staff, as well as visitors to this campus. Our students are preparing for final exams and end-of-year activities, including graduation, and we will continue to promote an educational environment where they can do so safely and without disruption," the officials said.
Fox News Digital's Danielle Wallace contributed to this update.
New Haven and Yale Police have reportedly enclosed the anti-Israel encampment on Cross Campus and warned protesters to vacate the area or be arrested.
According to the Yale Daily News, law enforcement "blocked off access to Cross Campus" at around 6 a.m. Tuesday morning and New Haven officers informed protesters that anyone who did not vacate the encampment could face arrest.
The New Haven Police Department told Fox News Digital that 29 of its officers were at the scene and no arrests have yet been made.
"Everyone is out of their tents and off across campus. There's a group of 30 or 40 maybe who are on the sidewalk, but no arrests as of now," a police spokesperson said.
At 7:13 a.m., Yale Police Officer Sabrina Wood told the Yale Daily News that officers are now "going through the encampment, searching for valuable goods like medications, phones and computers."
The student newspaper estimated there are around 115 protesters gathered on College Street.
Demonstrators from the pro-Palestine encampment on Columbia's Campus show a banner as they barricade themselves inside Hamilton Hall, they barricade themselves inside Hamilton Hall, an academic building which has been occupied in past student movements,, and name it after a Palestinian child allegedly killed by the Israeli military on Tuesday, April 30, 2024 in New York City. (Alex Kent/Getty Images)
The student group organizing the anti-Israel encampment at Columbia University said Tuesday that Hamilton Hall has been taken over by "an autonomous group" of "Columbia community members."
Columbia University Apartheid Divest announced in a statement posted on X that the group "reclaimed" Hamilton Hall and has renamed it "Hind's Hall," in honor of Hind Rajab, a 6-year-old who died in Gaza during Israel’s war with Hamas.
Calling the action an "escalation," the group said protesters "have voiced their intention to remain at Hind's Hall until Columbia concedes to CUAD's three demands: divestment, financial transparency and amnesty."
"Resistance is justified in the movement for liberation. Liberators acting in solidarity with Palestine continue to hold themselves to a higher standard than Columbia," the group added.
Early Tuesday morning, hundreds of anti-Israel protesters at Columbia's Manhattan campus took over Hamilton Hall, an academic building used by the dean and other senior offices. The unruly group gained access shortly before 1 a.m. and then began "moving metal gates to barricade the doors, blocking entrances with wooden tables and chairs, and zip-tying doors shut," according to the student newspaper Columbia Spectator.
Other footage showed the agitators in New York smashing windows, unfurling a Palestinian flag over a window and chanting: "From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free" and "Palestine will live forever." Outside the facility, the anti-Israel rebels, many of whom wore masks, locked arms in front of Hamilton Hall to form a human barricade.
The mutiny comes after the university set a deadline of 2 p.m. on Monday for students to gather their belongings and leave their encampment of around 120 tents or face suspension.
Fox News Digital's Lawrence Richard contributed to this update.
Fox News correspondent Ashley Strohmier reports on Liberty University's response to anti-Israel protests growing on college campuses on "Fox News @ Night."
Alex Kent/Getty Images
A facilities worker who was inside as anti-Israel protesters took over a building at Columbia University managed to exit the building after demanding the agitators allow him to leave.
The worker exited the building at around 12:40 a.m. after yelling at protesters occupying the Hamilton lobby, demanding they let him go, according to the Columbia Spectator.
As he was leaving Hamilton, the worker struck a person's camera in the crowd and yelled, "They held me hostage!"
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