April 24, 2024 - US university protests

Columbia University officials pushed back on assertions from protesters that the school threatened it would bring in the National Guard to help address the pro-Palestinian protest encampment.

The Secure Community Network – a consortium of Jewish community security officials across the nation – said Wednesday it is closely monitoring protest developments on college campuses and is urging administrators to “restore calm and order,” noting at least 20 significant protests are reportedly underway.

SCN “is closely monitoring safety and security conditions for potential escalation and impact to Jewish students and faculty/staff,” the organization said in a statement, adding threat watchers “tracked a record 516 threat incident and suspicious activity reports on campuses in 2023.”

“Schools must restore calm and order,” said SCN National Director & CEO Michael Masters. “The best way to do this is to enact and enforce strict anti-tent, anti-encampment policies, and have zero tolerance for assaults on either students or police. Schools must also ensure collaboration with law enforcement and students to create an environment of safety. Failure to enforce these rules will lead to escalating protests.”

As CNN has reported, SCN analysts routinely monitor both online and physical threats, and share investigative tips with law enforcement and Jewish houses of worship in the US.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott said that arrests of pro-Palestinian protesters at the University of Texas at Austin would continue “until the crowd disperses.”

State troopers in riot gear, including some on horseback, were seen by CNN affiliate KEYE breaking up a group of protesters at demonstrations at the University on Wednesday.

The Palestine Solidarity Committee in Austin organized the walkout and occupation on the school’s South Lawn.

Amelia Kimball, an associate managing editor at The Daily Texan, told CNN there was a “physical clash” between students and police at UT Austin on Wednesday.

“Numerous arrests have been made, numerous students have been put in squad cars,” Kimball said.

Abbott called for the expulsion of any students protesting in Texas. “Students joining in hate-filled, antisemitic protests at any public college or university in Texas should be expelled,” he wrote.

However, Democratic Rep. Greg Casar, whose district covers part of Austin, was critical of the police’s response to protesters in a post on social media.

“Freedom of speech and peaceful assembly are basic constitutional rights,” Casar posted on X. “Student protesters — whether you agree with them or not — have a right to safety & fairness. Responding to peaceful demonstrations with weapons and riot gear escalates tension and makes everyone less safe.”

The post was updated with comments from Rep. Greg Casar.

As on-campus protests continue Wednesday afternoon, the University of Southern California has closed its gates and is requiring individuals who need access to its campus to present identification.

The scene at the University of Southern California’s University Park campus has calmed after major activity erupted during a demonstration earlier today.

Hanan Ashrawi, a longtime leading figure in Palestinian politics and a peace negotiator, issued a statement Wednesday in support of pro-Palestinian protesters at college campuses across the United States. 

Ashrawi has held various leading roles in the Palestinian government over several decades, including as the minister of education. 

Speaker of the US House of Representatives Mike Johnson attends a news conference at Columbia University in New York, on Wednesday, April 24.

House Speaker Mike Johnson said he met with Columbia University’s president and asked her to take immediate action to address the unrest on campus. 

The speaker called on Nemat “Minouche” Shafik to resign after visiting the university on Wednesday.

Johnson said he would call President Joe Biden immediately after departing the campus and demand he take action, not ruling out the need for the National Guard to step in at some point.  

“My intention is to call President Biden after we leave here and share with him what we have seen with our own two eyes and demand that he take action, there is executive authority that would be appropriate. If this is not contained quickly, and if these threats and intimidation are not stopped, there is an appropriate time for the National Guard,” he said. 

Hundred students and protesters booed and chanted during House Speaker Mike Johnson’s press conference at Columbia University Wednesday.

Protesters chanted, “Free, free Palestine,” and “Disclose, divest, we will not stop, we will not rest.” The crowd also chanted, “From the River to sea, Palestine will be free.” (That last chant, used frequently at demonstrations, demands equal rights and the independence of Palestinians, although in some cases it is intended to call for the abolishment of Israel.)

Most of the crowd appeared to participate in the chant, “Mike, you suck.”

Grace, a graduate student who asked CNN not to use her last name, said Mike Johnson needs to “go away.”

She is a regular student passing by, she said, and hasn’t faced any major disruption from protesters. She said she is more disturbed by the NYPD’s presence. 

“Why he wants to come here to give a political show, I don’t know,” Grace said of Johnson. “This is very embarrassing, and you can see we don’t like him at all.”

US Speaker of the House Mike Johnson speaks to the media after meeting with Jewish students, as Pro-Palestinian students and activists continue to protest the Israel-Hamas war on the campus of Columbia University in New York City on April 24.

House Speaker Mike Johnson called on Columbia University President Nemat “Minouche” Shafik to resign during a tense press conference Wednesday during which the crowd repeatedly interrupted the speaker and at times loudly booed him and other GOP lawmakers who were with him as they stood at the mics. 

Johnson visited Columbia University to meet Jewish students and delivered remarks along with other Republican lawmakers. When Johnson and the GOP lawmakers first walked up to the mics to begin speaking, there were loud boos. At one point during the remarks from Johnson, the crowd started chanting loudly, to which the speaker said, “Enjoy your free speech.” 

The timing of Johnson’s visit comes as the embattled speaker is facing an onslaught of conservative criticism and as a handful of members, led by Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, have threatened to oust him.

The pressure has only intensified after he helped steer a foreign aid package through the House that included assistance to Ukraine, which many hardline conservatives vehemently opposed. Johnson has defended his leadership in the face of the growing threats, saying that he will not resign and warning that a vote to oust him could cause chaos in the House. 

Parker De Dekér, a Jewish student at Columbia University, said Wednesday the threats against him and other Jewish students feel “almost like a betrayal.”

“We understand what it feels like to be marginalized. Our ethnic populations have been marginalized for thousands of years,” De Dekér said on “CNN News Central.”

“In this movement, we want to advocate for peace in the Middle East just like everybody else. We want there not to be war between Israel and Hamas. We want there to be a ceasefire contingent upon those hostages being released….but it seems that our identities now have become a pawn in this, like, political game.”

De Dekér said he stands with students who want to speak out on what is happening in the Middle East but said “we’re seeing the blurring of the lines” between peaceful and violent protests.

He also said he wants House Speaker Mike Johnson, who is meeting with Jewish students on Columbia’s campus Wednesday, to “understand that antisemitism against Jewish individuals is not a political ploy.”

“This is Jewish safety we are talking about. These are our identities. Our stories shouldn’t be weaponized,” he said.

De Dekér also called on Johnson to work toward creating bipartisan solutions against antisemitism and other forms of hatred. He also cautioned against asking the university’s president to resign, adding that it could “create a lot more turmoil within our university” and instead “request more accountability from our universities, request more transparency.”

Student demonstrators occupy the pro-Palestinian "Gaza Solidarity Encampment" on the West Lawn of Columbia University on April 24 in New York City. 

Negotiations between protesters and officials at Columbia University about clearing the lawn with the encampment had been extended for 48 hours. 

Student protesters “won the concession that the university will not call law enforcement on our peaceful protests” early Wednesday, Khymani James, a student at Columbia, said during a news briefing Wednesday afternoon. 

“While we have received written assurances that our encampment will continue, the university continues to make threats in its attempts to stifle its students’ political speech,” he said. 

When asked by CNN about the written assurances, James said there was an update posted to the university’s website Wednesday morning.

There have been no public updates posted to the university’s website since Tuesday, according to a review by CNN.

In a statement to CNN early Wednesday, Columbia said “student protesters have committed to dismantling and removing a significant number of tents.” 

“That was a bad faith negotiation made before the university threatened to call the National Guard on us,” said another student protester, Basil Rodriguez. 

Susan Ellingwood, AVP of public affairs at Columbia, said to CNN: “Deploying the National Guard was never on the table.”

When asked what protesters would say to students who say they feel unsafe on campus, Rodriguez said: “Listen to our demands.” What the protesters are advocating for is “mutually beneficial to everyone” and “acting out of love,” Rodriguez said. 

The scene at the University of Southern California’s University Park campus has calmed after major activity erupted during a demonstration, according to CNN’s Nick Watt, who is on the scene.

Tensions escalated when the USC Department of Public Safety started dismantling some tents on campus and people shouted “hands off,” as seen by a CNN crew. Protesters surrounded a campus safety officer as he tried to remove a tent.

Minutes later, a crowd of protesters and media surrounded campus safety apprehending a man in a yellow vest, who appeared to be handcuffed and placed into a campus security vehicle.

Protesters crowded around the vehicle, chanting, “Let him go.”

When campus security released the apprehended protester, the situation was diffused, according to Watt. Many tents have been cleared since then.

Tents set up by demonstrators are seen today on the Columbia campus against the backdrop of the university's preparation for graduation ceremonies.

Columbia University student protesters said Wednesday they will not stop protesting until their demands to the university are fulfilled, and said they cannot confirm nor deny whether non-students are in the encampment on campus.

“We are not going anywhere. We are not going anywhere until our demands are met,” Khymani James, a student at Columbia, said during a news briefing Wednesday. 

Student protesters were asked multiple times whether non-students were inside the encampment on Columbia’s campus.

“We cannot confirm or deny that,” James said. “What I will say is: a reminder that Columbia is an open campus.”

There have been multiple confrontations between police officers, state troopers “in full riot gear with batons” and students on the University of Texas at Austin campus as officers continue to break up a pro-Palestinian protest Wednesday, Amelia Kimball, associate managing editor at The Daily Texan, told CNN News Central.

“Numerous arrests have been made, numerous students have been put in squad cars,” Kimball said.

In a live ground shot from CNN affiliate KEYE, a very large crowd of protesters can be seen along with police officers on the University of Texas at Austin campus.  

Kimball described the event as a “severe escalation.”

During the interview, Kimball said there was a “physical clash” between students and police. In the live feed from KEYE, pushing and shoving could be seen between police and protesters.  

The Austin Police Department is providing assistance to the University of Texas Police Department with transporting arrestees in relation to the incident on their campus after a request was made by UTPD, a spokesperson with APD told CNN in an email.

“The University of Texas has a dedicated police department that serves as the primary point of contact for any safety or security concerns on their campus,” the email reads.

USC Safety officers try to disperse students who protest in support of Palestinians, at the University of Southern California's Alumni Park in Los Angeles, California, on April 24.

Pro-Palestinian protests are taking place at major American universities Wednesday.

The protesters and their supporters, including faculty in some cases, are condemning crackdowns on demonstrations and free speech. Some students, parents, donors and lawmakers are pleading with administrators to take new steps to restore order.

Demonstrations are ongoing at Columbia University, Brown University and other campuses.

Here’s what has happened so far:

State troopers are seen at University of Texas in Austin, as Pro-Palestinian protests broke out on April 24.

Pro-Palestinian protests broke out on April 24 at University of Texas in Austin.

People are seen gathering around an altercation during protests at University of Texas in Austin today.

Texas State troopers in riot gear, including some on horseback, began breaking up a group of pro-Palestinian protesters at the University of Texas at Austin shortly after a demonstration began Wednesday.

The Palestine Solidarity Committee in Austin organized the walkout and occupation on the school’s South Lawn. According to an Instagram post announcing the event, students were encouraged to bring “blankets, food and water, face masks, and lots of energy.”

Amelia Kimball, associate managing editor at The Daily Texan, told CNN there were no plans for an encampment like on other university campuses across the country.

Kimball said students gathered in a central area of campus and within minutes were ordered to disperse. Kimball said she’s seen law enforcement form multiple blockades in the area to keep the crowd dispersed.

She also described “tense interactions” and “physical struggles between police and students.” Some of those scenes, including an arrest, were captured by CNN affiliate KEYE.

“I don’t think students were expecting this kind of a response,” she said on CNN, saying some students have spread out while others remain in the crowd.

Kimball said she started noticing a large law enforcement presence earlier in the day before the protest began. 

CNN has reached out to the Texas Department of Public Safety, the University of Texas and Austin Police.  

People hold a banner as students build a protest encampment in support of Palestinians, at the University of Southern California's Alumni Park in Los Angeles, California, on April 24.

There is “significant activity” at the University of Southern California’s University Park Campus due to a demonstration, according to an alert sent by the school on Wednesday.

“There may be difficulty accessing that area,” according to the school.

Tuesday’s protest on campus was peaceful this morning and protesters had set up tents, according to CNN’s Nick Watt, who is on the scene.

Texas State Police were seen pushing back pro-Palestinian protesters on the University of Texas at Austin campus Wednesday afternoon, as witnessed by CNN affiliate KEYE.

Footage aired on CNN showed a chaotic scene, with what appeared to be shouts of “disperse” from law enforcement officers and a large crowd of student protesters shouting back. 

“There does seem to be some escalating levels of distress, and protesters are continuing to chant, and the police are forming multiple blockades to keep protesters from moving,” Amelia Kimball, associate managing editor at The Daily Texan, said on air with CNN. 

U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg speaks during a news conference at Washington National Airport today in Arlington, Virginia.

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg reacted Wednesday to the ongoing pro-Palestinian protests that are taking place on university campuses across the country, calling for protesters to “safely” make their voices heard.

He also highlighted the importance of distinguishing between peaceful protests and harassment. 

“It is important when people are exercising those rights to free speech, to protest, to assembly, that they do so safely,” Buttigieg said on Fox News Wednesday afternoon, adding later: “We have to make a distinction between what is legitimate free speech, inquiry, protest, debate, ferociously contested ideas. That’s one thing. And of course, also a recognition of the pain that is driving so much of the passion around the issues in the Middle East.”  

Buttigieg also condemned any expressions of antisemitism or threats of physical violence or harm against Jewish students. 

“Any expression of antisemitism or hatred is unconscionable, it must be called out, it must be confronted. And that’s certainly what President Biden has done in unambiguous terms,” Buttigieg said, continuing: “Especially disturbing [is] the idea that a student would be targeted and harassed simply because they are Jewish, or simply because they look Jewish.”

Protesters gather to show support for Palestinians in Gaza, outside of Columbia University in New York City on April 24.

Columbia University student protesters issued a statement on X Wednesday afternoon claiming that university administration provided a written commitment Tuesday night to not call in the New York Police Department or the National Guard to break up the encampments after students refused to stay at the negotiating table.

“The University’s previous threats of an imminent sweep by the NYPD or the National Guard had severed negotiations. The administration’s threats backfired when student negotiators refused to stay at the table,” according to the statement.

Susan Ellingwood, assistant vice president of public affairs at Columbia, told CNN earlier Wednesday that “deploying the National Guard was never on the table.”

The students’ statement was posted on behalf of Columbia University Apartheid Divest, the student group responsible for organizing the original encampment on the East Lawn. It has also been involved in organizing the West Lawn encampment and negotiating with Columbia’s administration. 

Student protesters said they plan to hold a news briefing at 2:30 pm ET outside the university’s Butler Library.

Two arrests were made during a pro-Palestinian protest on Ohio State University’s campus on Tuesday, according to a university spokesperson.

“When yesterday’s demonstration became disruptive to the students, faculty and staff in Meiling Hall, the university issued multiple warnings. When the disruptive activity continued, two individuals were arrested,” OSU spokesperson Benjamin Johnson said. “Ohio State has an unwavering commitment to freedom of speech and took this action in alignment with our space use rules to provide for the orderly conduct of university business.”

“When protected speech becomes incitement or threats of violence, Ohio State has and will always move quickly to enforce the law and university policy. I will not compromise on this,” the president wrote, noting that OSU would continue to have university police on site for student demonstrations.

Any violation of university policy will get a warning, but may be “cited, referred to Student Conduct and/or arrested” should they continue, Johnson told CNN.

When asked if OSU would consider the students’ demands for divestment from Israel, Johnson said state law “prohibits the university from divesting any interests in Israel and prohibits adopting or adhering to a policy that requires divestment from Israel or with persons or entities associated with it.”

Students continue to maintain a protest encampment in support of Palestinians on the Columbia University campus on April 24.

President Joe Biden will be in New York City Friday, but White House and campaign officials told CNN Wednesday there have been no internal discussions about him visiting Columbia University.

Some demonstrators say the Biden administration is complicit in the deaths of the many thousands of civilians in Gaza.

Groups of senior White House officials have traveled to cities with large Muslim and Arab populations in recent weeks to meet with local community leaders and hear their concerns – gatherings that have at times prompted calls for boycotts.

White House spokesman Andrew Bates said Tuesday that the White House was monitoring “closely” the protests on college campuses and that he takes seriously the conversations he has had with community leaders about the current “painful moment.”

Columbia President Nemat Shafik testified on April 17 before the House Committee on Education and the Workforce hearing on "Columbia in Crisis: Columbia University's Response to Antisemitism" on Capitol Hill in Washington.

House Speaker Mike Johnson says he will call on Columbia University President Nemat “Minouche” Shafik to resign when he joins Jewish students on campus Wednesday. 

Johnson added that “what we’re seeing on these college campuses across the country is disgusting and unacceptable.”

While at the university this afternoon, Johnson will have a meal with Jewish students before the event. He will be joined by New York Reps. Mike Lawler, Nicole Malliotakis and others in the New York Republican delegation. 

“We’re relying on and calling upon and demanding these university officials to control of the situation, which is just completely out of control right now,” Johnson said. 

Johnson also proposed revoking federal funding and “student visas for these violent protests” in the wake of the unrest.

NYPD officers stand by the entrance to Columbia University on April 24 in New York City. 

Columbia University notified students and faculty Wednesday morning that the hybrid model for classes will extend to final exams.

Provost Angela Olinto said in an email that all final course assessments, including exams, presentations and projects, “must include a remote option for students who have requested support for virtual assessment.”

The university announced classes, which end Monday, would be hybrid for the remainder of the academic year. Final exams take place from May 3 to May 10. 

Olinto said that final assessments at Columbia’s Medical Center and Manhattanville campus will continue as scheduled.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant in December 2023 at the Kiryat Shaul cemetery in Tel Aviv, Israel.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Wednesday criticized the ongoing protests on US college campuses, saying they “are not only antisemitic, but also inciting terrorism” in a post on his X account. 

“To our Jewish brothers and sisters — we stand with you,” Gallant said, calling for university officials and US authorities to “act now to defend Jewish youth.”

Some background: More than 130 people were arrested at New York University at a pro-Palestinian protest Monday night. NYU said it asked for help from the NYPD after school officials said there were “intimidating chants and several antisemitic incidents” during a protest. That led to scenes of a chaotic confrontation between protesters and police in full riot gear. An NYPD official said the demonstrations weren’t violent overall, except for a few bottles thrown at police officers.

Yale University police arrested 45 protesters Monday and charged them with criminal trespassing after they refused orders to leave, said police in New Haven, Connecticut, though dozens of protesters remained Tuesday morning.

US House Speaker Mike Johnson said he plans to visit Jewish students at Columbia University on Wednesday and hold a press conference “regarding the troubling rise of virulent antisemitism on America’s college campuses,” according to his office.

Brown University said about 90 students were seen setting up an encampment and protest around 6 am ET on Wednesday, according to a university spokesperson, which is a “violation of University policy.”

The students on the Providence, Rhode Island, campus have been told they will be subject to “conduct proceedings,” according to spokesperson Brian Clark.

“We have been troubled by reports of violence, harassment and intimidation at some encampments on other campuses, but we have not seen that kind of behavior at Brown. Any such behavior would not be tolerated,” the spokesperson added.

He also said there have been incorrect reports that the university’s policy prohibiting encampments was established this year. It has existed since 2011, but it was reformatted and moved to a different website about the school’s policies as part of a yearslong project, according to Clark.  

As universities across the US continue to see pro-Palestinian protests, data shows that only about 7% of younger Americans strongly favor the US providing military aid to Israel in its war against Hamas, while 29% strongly oppose it.

Meanwhile, about 30% of US adults over the age of 65 strongly favor providing military aid, while about 9% strongly oppose, according to Pew Research Center.

Meanwhile, there is not a big age difference among US adults on whether the country should provide aid to Gaza, with 25-33% strongly in favor of giving support, according to Pew Research Center.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) on April 22 in Triangle, Virginia, as Joe Biden speaks on Earth Day at Prince William Forest Park.

As pro-Palestinian protests spread throughout college campuses nationwide, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez from New York condemned the way administrators like Columbia University President Minouche Shafik have handled the issue on behalf of the student protesters.

“Calling in police enforcement on nonviolent demonstrations of young students on campus is an escalatory, reckless, and dangerous act,” wrote Rep. Ocasio-Cortez in a post on X Tuesday. “It represents a heinous failure of leadership that puts people’s lives at risk. I condemn it in the strongest possible terms.”

Her comment came a day after a fellow New York Democrat, Rep. Jamaal Bowman, accused Columbia of caving to “right wing pressure.”

Overnight, protesters at Columbia University were seen removing tents from the lawn and carrying them off campus or relocating to other parts of the campus. 

According to the university, student protesters “have committed to dismantling and removing a significant number of tents.” 

“Student protesters will ensure that those not affiliated with Columbia will leave,” according to the university. 

A Columbia spokesperson said student protesters “have taken steps to make the encampment welcome to all and have prohibited discriminatory or harassing language,” and will comply with FDNY safety requirements.

Protesters continue to maintain the encampment on Columbia University campus on April 24 in New York City, after a tense night of negotiations.

Columbia University said it has extended negotiations with student activists over the dismantling of the pro-Palestinian encampment that has cast its campus into days of turmoil, a spokesperson for the school said.

The statement came just hours after Columbia’s president announced it had given protesters a midnight deadline to reach an agreement or the university would consider “alternative options” to clear the encampment. The talks will now be extended another 48 hours after “important progress” was made, the spokesperson said.

As the protests stretch into their eighth day, Columbia President Minouche Shafik has faced numerous calls from donors and lawmakers who believe police should be brought in to clear the encampment and restore order on campus – even as students and faculty are condemning the president’s similar decision last week to ask the New York Police Department to clear another student encampment.

What students said shortly after midnight: Student protesters released a statement on X at 12:13 am ET saying Columbia administration threatened to call in the National Guard and that students left the negotiating table and will not return until there is a written commitment that the “administration will not be unleashing the NYPD or the National Guard on its students.” 

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson holds a press conference on April 10 in Washington, DC.

House Speaker Mike Johnson will head to Columbia University today to visit with Jewish students and deliver remarks and hold a press conference “regarding the troubling rise of virulent antisemitism on America’s college campuses,” according to his office.

This comes as pro-Palestinian protests have rocked major American universities, including Columbia. After days of tense demonstrations, Columbia University announced it is moving to mostly hybrid classes on its main campus until the end of the semester, April 29.

New York House Republicans have called on Columbia president Minouche Shafik to resign immediately for failing to crack down on the protests.

President Joe Biden walks to the Oval Office on April 18.

President Joe Biden is “of course aware” of pro-Palestinian protests that have roiled college campuses across the country, the White House said Tuesday.

White House Deputy Press Secretary Andrew Bates told reporters traveling with Biden on Air Force One that the administration is “monitoring these situations closely,” taking the opportunity to condemn what he called “alarming rhetoric,” at some student protests.

“[The president]’s, of course, aware of the protests — we know that this is a painful moment for many communities, we respect that, and we support every American’s right to peacefully protest, that’s something that we have been consistent about,” Bates said.

But he wouldn’t say what the administration thinks of some Republicans’ call to deploy the National Guard to respond to campus protests at Columbia University. Bates added that the decision to deploy National Guard members would fall to New York Gov. Kathy Hochul.

Pro-Palestinian protests continue to rock major American universities, prompting school officials across the country to take extraordinary steps to confront the growing crisis.

The protests, counter-protests, actions by college officials and demands from lawmakers underscore the unrest that has engulfed universities, leading many students, especially Jewish students, to fear for their safety as the Passover holiday is underway.

Pro-Palestinian protesters and their supporters – sometimes including faculty – are condemning crackdowns on protests and free speech, while from some students, parents, donors and lawmakers are pleading with administrators to take new steps to restore order.

In recent days, the on-campus demonstrations have attracted non-university-affiliated protesters to the campus gates, which student organizers have sought to distance themselves from.

As the protests continue, a growing sense of unease has spread among Columbia University’s Jewish community as they enter the approximately weeklong observation of Passover, a major Jewish holiday celebrating freedom.

Hagar Chemali, an adjunct associate professor of international and public affairs at Columbia University, told CNN, “If I had my child at Columbia, I also would tell them to go home.”

“It’s not just because of the tension on campus, it’s also because those protests on campus have invited extremists outside,” Chemali said, referring to non-student protesters who have been demonstrating near the campus.

Read more here.