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New York City Mayor Eric Adams lauded the NYPD on Wednesday after officers swept through anti-American and anti-Israel mobs at two major college campuses overnight, locking up hundreds of agitators.
He then ripped into the “despicable” academic environment that allowed the groups to fester.
He singled out an incident when NYPD officers tore down a Palestinian flag that protesters had raised in place of the Stars and Stripes, praising officers for putting their lives on the line and noting his own uncle had died defending American values.
“My uncle died defending this country, and these men and women put their lives on the line – and it’s despicable that schools will allow another country’s flag to fly in our country,” Adams, a former NYPD captain, told reporters. “So blame me for being proud to be an American, and, I think, Commissioner Daughtry for putting that flag back up. We’re not surrendering our way of life to anyone.”
COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY LOCKS DOWN CAMPUS BUILDING FOLLOWING OVERNIGHT MUTINTY: ‘EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY’
Mayor Eric Adams holds up the request from Columbia University asking for New York City police to clear protesters from campus, where a building occupation and protest encampment had been set up, in New York City,on May 1, 2024. (Reuters/Mike Segar)
New York City’s law enforcement leaders delivered an update Wednesday morning, hours after sweeping through the historic Hamilton Hall at Columbia University and clearing out a group of anti-Israel agitators who had “occupied” the building as part of their ongoing demonstrations.
Adams warned that a global movement to “radicalize young people” is being led by individuals who are “not affiliated with the university” but nevertheless recruited students to “create chaos.”
WATCH: NYPD reraises American flag at CCNY after removing Palestinian flag
Video“There is a movement to radicalize young people, and I’m not going to wait until it’s done and all of a sudden acknowledge the existence of it,” he told reporters Wednesday morning. “This is a global problem that young are being influenced by those who are professionals and radicalizing our children. And I’m not going to allow that to happen. As the mayor of the city of New York.”
Police finally stormed the structure after school administrators repeatedly retreated from enforcing deadlines demanding the groups dismantle their campus encampment over the past two weeks. Columbia University officials finally threatened the group with expulsion after students smashed their way into the school’s Hamilton Hall and “occupied” the building.
Anti-Israel agitators barricade themselves inside Hamilton Hall, an academic building which has been occupied in past student movements, on April 30, 2024, in New York City. (Alex Kent/Getty Images)
“There’s nothing peaceful about barricading buildings, destroying property or dismantling security cameras,” Adams said.
His remarks came after university officials finally asked police for support as campus demonstrations grew increasingly unruly.
“This may be the most memorable moment in a mayoralty that has thus far not been very memorable,” said Paul Mauro, a former NYPD inspector, who warned that the bravado may be a way for city leaders to soften the consequences for students involved in the chaos.
Police Commissioner Edward Caban speaks at a press conference while holding up chains and a lock removed by officers during their operation to clear protestors from Columbia University, where a building occupation and protest encampment had been set up, in New York City on May 1, 2024. (Reuters/Mike Segar)
“I want to see the numbers. They’re not all outside agitators. New York looked good the way it was handled by the NYPD… now though I see the meme developing that these are just kids led astray and that’s gonna be an excuse for them to go soft on these kids. These are not children – these are adults who are in one of the most prestigious institutions in the country and are our future leaders.”
Police arrested about 300 people at Columbia and at City College overnight.
“Students occupying the building face expulsion,” school spokesman Ben Chang declared in bold letters in a statement Tuesday afternoon.
The blunt warning came about 12 hours after photos showed a mob of masked and keffiyah-clad demonstrators broke into the building, barricaded the doors and took it over.
“The work of the University cannot be endlessly interrupted by protesters who violate the rules,”Chang said.
“Continuing to do so will be met with clear consequences.Protesters have chosen to escalate to an untenable situation– vandalizing property, breaking doors and windows, and blockading entrances – and we are following through with the consequences we outlined yesterday.”
Students at Columbia University broke into Hamilton Hall on Tuesday, April 30, 2024. (Getty Images/Alex Kent)
Outside the occupied building, a group of like-minded activists linked arms and demanded the university bend to their requests that it divest from Israel-related companies and promise not to punish students involved in the demonstrations.
Critics have widely condemned the controversial encampments, which have cropped up at Columbia and other major university campuses, as an antisemitic display that threatens the safety of their Jewish classmates.
New York Police Department officers enter the Columbia University building and detain anti-Israel demonstrators on April 30, 2024. The building was cleared of occupiers about two hours after the operation began, and over 100 people were taken into custody, according to multiple reports. (Selcuk Acar/Anadolu via Getty Images)
The school said it had already begun issuing suspensions and that seniors singled out for that punishment will not graduate on time.
“This is about responding to the actions of the protesters, not their cause,” Chang said. “As we said yesterday, disruptions on campus have created a threatening environment for many of our Jewish students and faculty and a noisy distraction that interferes with teaching, learning, and preparing for final exams, and contributes to a hostile environment in violation of Title VI.”
A view of the broken windows at the entrance door of Hamilton Hall. (Selcuk Acar/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Earlier on Tuesday, university officials declared a lockdown as a result of the Hamilton Hall break-in.
The NYPD later revealed video evidence that “professional” protesters were on the scene, egging on the students.
Supporters of Students for Justice in Palestine, one of the groups organizing the national anti-Israel demonstrations, insist they are carrying out peaceful protests.
Columbia University President Nemat Shafik leaves the Low Memorial Library on the campus on Wednesday, April 24, 2024. The embattled president, who is under pressure to resign her post, reportedly met with House Speaker Mike Johnson before his speech at the university earlier. (Fox News Digital)
However, Jewish students at Columbia and elsewhere tell Fox News Digital they are facing harassment, discrimination and physical threats.
One student, who asked to be identified only with his first name, Josh, due to fears for his safety, told Fox News Digital that he could hear the protesters chanting anti-Israel slogans and beating drums well into the night.
A masked demonstrator stands guard at a locked gate on Columbia’s West Lawn, where dozens of students have set up tents as they demand the university take a number of anti-Israel measures amid a conflict between the country’s military and Hamas terrorists who attacked on Oct. 7, 2023. (Micheal Ruiz/Fox News Digital)
“The scariest thing I want to emphasize is that we’ve had no idea who has been in these camps,” he said. “I’ve watched, while walking home at night, people climbing over the fence, smuggling stuff in through side doors.” He said some of the people he saw resembled a student he believed had been suspended in connection with the demonstrations.
ANTI-ISRAEL AGITATORS AT COLUMBIA ISSUE DEFIANT ULTIMATUM
He also played cellphone video taken over the weekend showing a group of anti-Israel agitators calling a pair of Jewish students “Zionists” and surrounding them because they were wearing Star of David necklaces.
Multiple people who said they were authorized to speak on behalf of the Columbia encampment declined to speak with Fox News Digital.
Anti-Israel agitators relax inside an encampment set up on the West Lawn at Columbia University in New York City on April 25, 2024. A group of radical demonstrators broke into the school’s Hamilton Hall early Tuesday and barricaded themselves inside. (Micheal Ruiz/Fox News Digital)
“I’ve had a friend who was beaten up,” said Itai Driefuss, a third-year Columbia undergrad and Israeli military veteran from Tel Aviv. “It’s scary. It’s violent.”
On Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas launched a surprise attack that killed more than 1,200 Israelis and saw more than 200 kidnapped and held hostage. Israel’s military response is still underway and has killed thousands.
Earlier this month, another Israeli military veteran who attends Columbia filed a lawsuit accusing the school of harshly punishing him for using “fart spray” on anti-Israel activists while turning a blind eye to their antisemitic rhetoric.
Fox News’ Lawrence Richard contributed to this report.
