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An insurrection at Columbia University, where a massive mob broke into an academic building, continued early Tuesday morning with the group rebranding the building and threatening further action.
Protests at the university took a major escalation after midnight when anti-Israel activists at Columbia’s Manhattan campus dialed up their demonstration by taking over the iconic Hamilton Hall, an academic building used by the dean.
The unruly group gained access shortly before 1 a.m., and 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.
The group then placed a banner over the facility renaming it “Hind’s Hall,” apparently after Hind Rajab, a 6-year-old who died during Israel’s war with Hamas in Gaza, per a statement apparently from the group that was posted on X.
The Columbia University students broke into the facility and renamed it after 6-year-old Palestinian girl Hind Rajab, who was killed in Gaza in January. (Selcuk Acar/Anadolu via Getty Images)
In the statement, the group confirmed they “reclaimed Hind’s Hall… in honor of Hind Rajab,” who the group described as a “Gazan martyr.” Hamilton Hall was named after famed Founding Father Alexander Hamilton.
Other buildings on the campus are similarly named after historical figures who contributed to America’s founding.
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“This escalation represents the next generation of the 1968, 1985, and 1992 student movements which Columbia once repressed yet celebrates today,” the group, Columbia University Apartheid Divest, wrote in the post.
Members of an anti-Israel mob broke into Hamilton Hall early Tuesday morning. (Alex Kent/Getty Images)
The agitators are speaking critically of Israel and Jewish people, and are expressing their support for Hamas and Palestinians in Gaza. (Selcuk Acar/Anadolu via Getty Images)
“Resistance is justified in the movement for liberation,” it continued. “Liberators acting in solidarity with Palestine continue to hold themselves to a higher standard than Columbia.”
It added: “Columbia has forced protesters to escalate by contributing to a genocide while refusing to follow baseline standards of conduct that make negotiation possible.”
Columbia University President Minouche Shafik called law enforcement to sweep the “Gaza Solidarity Encampment” after failed attempts to negotiate with the agitators. (Alex Kent/Getty Images)
Students blocked the entrance of iconic Hamilton Hall building as they chant pro-Palestine slogans at Columbia University. (Selcuk Acar/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Columbia University has ruled out any divestment and has vowed to hold those who are protesting accountable.
Footage of the insurrection showed the protesters 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.”
A group of Columbia University students formed a human link outside the iconic Hamilton Hall building amid continued unrest on the campus. (Selcuk Acar/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Students at Columbia University took over Hamilton Hall, an academic used by the dean, and rebranded it “Hind’s Hall.” (Alex Kent)
Outside of Hamilton Hall, the anti-Israel rebels form a human barricade by linking their arms and vowing to remain until the university meets their three demands.
On Monday, former President Trump weighed in about the anti-Israel demonstrations that continue to roil U.S. college and university campuses.
“Stop the protests now!!!” he said in an all-caps post.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
