About 10 people were taken into police custody Wednesday after the NYPD cleared out a student protest at Barnard College after an apparent bomb threat.
It took nearly two hours for officers to clear students from campus after police say a bomb threat was called in for the school’s library around 4:30 p.m.
Police sources tell CBS News New York 10 people refused officers’ orders and were taken into custody.
Students jeered in the pouring rain as police shut down the block and swept the building.
No explosives were found, and the area was cleared.
It’s unclear if any students will be disciplined.
Barnard College students stage sit-in at library
The bomb threat interrupted a student sit-in at the library.
CBS News New York’s Ali Bauman asked dozens of student protesters to talk about the message of their protest and their experience with police during the evacuation. All of them refused to go on camera.
Barnard College President Laura Ann Rosenbury released the following statement Wednesday night:
“Many of us are understandably concerned about the events that have unfolded on campus today.
“First and foremost, I want to assure the community that our campus is now secure.
“But earlier today, we received an alarming bomb threat. We are now confident that there is no longer a danger to our community, and we are preparing for our regular academic schedule to resume tomorrow morning.
“With that said, I want to share more information about the disturbing and unacceptable events that took place today, prior to the bomb threat, when a group of masked individuals staged an unauthorized protest in the lobby of the Milstein Center, disrupting classes and studies.
“Throughout the afternoon, our staff made repeated requests for the disrupters to leave the building. We issued multiple written warnings and attempted to de-escalate. I spoke with the disrupters by phone and reiterated my willingness to meet with three Barnard students, provided they removed their masks. Again, the disrupters refused to leave. That was unacceptable.
“In the midst of de-escalation efforts, Barnard received a specific threat of a bomb in the Milstein Center.
“The safety of our campus, and every single person on our campus, must be protected above all else. The moment we received the bomb threat, we had to clear the Milstein Center and inform the authorities.
“Barnard staff in the building immediately notified the masked disrupters about the bomb threat and once again told them to leave. Many of them still refused to leave.
“Our staff, at risk to their own personal safety, remained in the Milstein lobby, urging the masked disrupters to take the threat seriously. Even when the College activated the fire alarm, the masked protesters put our entire campus at risk by refusing to leave.
“At that point, for the safety of our entire community – including the safety of the masked disrupters – Barnard made the necessary decision to request NYPD assistance so they could evacuate the building to reduce the risk of harm. The NYPD were then able to search for the bomb and assess the threat, ultimately determining that the campus was not at risk.
“The decision to request NYPD assistance was guided and informed entirely by the absolute obligation we have to keep every member of our community safe.
“Today has been unsettling and disturbing, and these continued disruptions take a toll on our community. The desire of a few to disrupt and threaten cannot outweigh the needs of the students, faculty, and staff who call our campus home.
“I urge us to come together with care and respect for each other rooted in our shared commitment to Barnard.”
“We are aware of a disruption of Milstein Library at Barnard College — a separate institution from Columbia University, although it is affiliated. We are in touch with Barnard’s leadership and security team as they address the situation and will continue to monitor it closely. The disruption of academic activities is not acceptable conduct. We are committed to supporting our Columbia student body and our campus community during this challenging time,” neighboring Columbia University said in a message to its students.
“Anti-Israel agitators are at it again, taking over a building at Barnard College and preventing students from attending classes and using the library,” Rep. Ritchie Torres wrote on social media. “If colleges like Barnard had a clear policy of expelling students who take over private property, the hostile takeovers would end in a heartbeat. The lack of accountability is an open invitation to lawlessness and disorder on college campuses.”
Trump threatens to pull funding from schools over “illegal protests”
It was Barnard’s second such protest in a week over the expulsion of two students, whom police sources say had distributed hateful flyers during a class about Israel, including one showing a boot stomping on a Jewish star.
At last week’s demonstration, authorities say a 41-year-old security guard was hospitalized after being pushed by protesters entering a campus building.
Barnard said it was working to identify the protesters in that incident and would pursue discipline, but it didn’t say what sort of discipline that would be.
Wednesday’s incident at Barnard comes on the heels of President Trump threatening to pull federal funding from schools that allow what he called “illegal protests.”
“All Federal Funding will STOP for any College, School, or University that allows illegal protests,” Mr. Trump posted on social media Tuesday morning. “Agitators will be imprisoned/or permanently sent back to the country from which they came. American students will be permanently expelled or, depending on on the crime, arrested. NO MASKS!”
Columbia University is facing a a comprehensive review of its federal contracts after pro-Palestinian demonstrators set up encampments last year on the university’s lawn. Similar protests took place last year at schools around the city and the country.
What is an illegal protest?
“If there’s a legal protest happening and there’s a person who, within that protest, is committing an act that could be illegal, it’s still up to the DA to review,” trial attorney Nicole Brenecki said. “If you’re barging onto someone’s property where you’re not allowed to be, if it still constitutes trespass, it can be illegal.”
When it comes to private campuses, Brenecki said the school determines what’s permitted. Under Title VI, though, recipients of federal funding are not allowed to discriminate.
“There’s also the issue of speech crossing the line into unlawful conduct, which means that if speech is harassing, if it presents a true threat — intimidation, things like that — those are not protected expressive activities, and, unfortunately, that’s a lot of what we’re seeing on campus today,” said Carly F. Gammill, the director of legal policy for Stand With Us.
Gammill says when protesters chant “globalize the intifada,” it’s a call for violence against Jewish people and those supporting Israel, which should be considered unlawful.
First Amendment attorney Ian Rosenberg, however, says protests “can’t be illegal.”
“Protests are protected by the First Amendment,” he said. “Trump has no constitutional authority to condition federal funding for colleges based on his vague term about illegal protests. But the lack of authority isn’t the real point. What Trump’s goal is, is to intimidate student protesters, to chill student speech and to encourage college administrators to do the same.”
Jesse ZangerJesse Zanger is the managing editor of CBSNewYork.com. Jesse has previously worked for the Fox News Channel and Spectrum News NY1. He covers regional news around the Tri-State Area, with a particular focus on breaking news and extreme weather.
