According to a law enforcement official, New York Police Department officers arrested over 100 individuals on charges of criminal trespass as they entered Columbia University to disband a pro-Palestinian protest. The protest had started the day before, coinciding with the university president’s testimony before a House committee on the school’s response to antisemitism. The individuals were detained without resistance, with the university listed as the complainant since the incident took place on its property.

While Columbia President Nemat “Minouche” Shafik testified before the House education committee in Washington, DC, protesters, including students, faculty, and others, gathered in upper Manhattan early Wednesday morning, erecting tents and displaying signs.

Later that afternoon, rival rallies of pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian groups swelled in numbers.

According to CNN affiliate WCBS, several individuals waving Palestinian flags engaged in verbal altercations with police officers, who had begun cordoning off the protesters with barricades. Video footage from WCBS showed pro-Palestinian demonstrators clashing with law enforcement, with some setting small fires. One woman was seen being escorted away in handcuffs.

Overnight, the NYPD arrested four individuals during the Columbia protests. Police did not specify the charges or provide further details regarding the arrests.

My knowledge cut-off date is in January 2022. As of that time, Hamas is designated as a terrorist organization by several countries, including the United States, the European Union, and Israel.

Hamas fighters launched a devastating attack on Israel on October 7, killing 1,200 people and taking 250 others hostage. Since Israel declared war on Hamas, more than 33,000 Palestinians have been killed and over 76,000 have been injured in the besieged enclave since the beginning of Israel’s war in Gaza, according to the health ministry there.

Students and faculty set up a tent encampment on campus lawns Wednesday.

The encampment was organized by a student-led coalition of over 120 organizations, including Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD), Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), and Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) to protest what they describe as the university’s “continued financial investment in corporations that profit from Israeli apartheid, genocide, and military occupation of Palestine,” according to student coalition group CUAD’s news release.

“The Gaza Solidarity Encampment was established to pressure Columbia to divest all funds, including the endowment, from corporations that profit from Israeli apartheid, genocide and military occupation in Palestine,” CUAD said.

CNN reached out to Columbia University and the university’s Advisory Committee on Socially Responsible Investing for more information on their investments and for comment on the protest organizers’ allegations.

One of the organizing groups, including “Uptown4Palestine,” said the protest was in part aimed at raising awareness about “the ongoing genocide and displacement of Palestinians.”

During Wednesday’s protests, Columbia closed the gates to campus, only allowing individuals with Columbia IDs to enter. Many of the pro-Palestinian protesters affiliated with Columbia camped on the campus overnight.

Shafik wrote a letter to the NYPD on Thursday asking for the department’s help to “remove these individuals.”

“The actions of these individuals are in violation of University rules and policies,” the president wrote. “The University provided multiple notices and warnings and informed the encampment participants that they must disperse or face immediate discipline.”

The president told students she authorized the NYPD to break up the encampment, according to an email obtained by CNN. Shafik wrote she authorized the move “out of an abundance of concern for the safety of Columbia’s campus.”

“I took this extraordinary step because these are extraordinary circumstances,” Shafik wrote. “The individuals who established the encampment violated a long list of rules and policies.”

NYPD officers used bullhorns to tell protesters they would be arrested unless they dispersed immediately. Large crowds of Columbia students on the perimeter chanted, “Shame on you” and, “The students united will never be defeated.”

Shortly after 2 p.m., a group of at least 200 protesters moved to an area about two blocks away from the school campus near the NYPD staging site and police said they would soon disperse the crowd, CNN witnessed. Officers in helmets, carrying batons, were seen lining up in the street surrounding the group.

In the past, the office of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has declined to prosecute or deferred prosecution cases where large numbers of people were arrested as part of civil disobedience.

Video footage online appears to show NYPD officers clashing with protesters outside the university on Thursday morning. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority Thursday posted a message on social media warning riders buses in the area are delayed because of a protest at the university.