(CNN) — Multiple people were taken into custody by the New York Police Department at Columbia University after a pro-Palestinian protest in an area of the main library on campus Wednesday.
University officials asked the NYPD for help Wednesday night securing Butler Library “due to the number of individuals participating in the disruption inside and outside of the building, a large group of people attempting to force their way into Butler Library creating a safety hazard, and what we believe to be the significant presence of individuals not affiliated with the University,” acting university President Claire Shipman said in a statement.
Charges are pending against the individuals, the NYPD said. It’s unclear how many people have been detained or what charges they may face.
The university had earlier said there was a “disruption” in reading room 301 of Butler Library – about two days before final exams are scheduled to begin at the university. Protesters entered the room around 3:15 p.m. ET, CNN affiliate WABC reported.
Two university safety officers were injured during a “crowd surge” when individuals attempted to enter the library, Shipman said. No details were available on the nature of their injuries.
Video from inside the library earlier Wednesday shows public safety officers confronting protesters, who were being blocked and pushed from the library doors as some yell, “let them out!” “Stop! You’re hurting me!” one protester is heard shouting.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams said on X around 7 p.m. ET that “NYPD is entering the campus to remove individuals who are trespassing.”
“At the direct request of Columbia University, the NYPD responded to an ongoing situation on campus where individuals have occupied a library and are trespassing,” an NYPD spokesperson said in a statement to CNN. “Multiple individuals who did not comply with verbal warnings by the NYPD to disperse were taken into custody.”
Videos from the scene showed officers escorting at least 15 people from the building in zip ties and taking them to an NYPD bus down the block. Officers with crowd control gear, including riot helmets and batons, are seen as the crowd chants “Free Palestine.”
Protesters – who are asking for the university to divest from companies that have ties to Israel – called for the library to be renamed the “Basel Al-Araj Popular University,” according to a Substack post from Columbia University Apartheid Divest. Al-Araj, a Palestinian activist, died in 2017.
It’s unclear whether all the demonstrators at the library Wednesday are affiliated with the group. CNN has reached out to Columbia for more information.
The demonstration comes about a year after pro-Palestinian protesters at Columbia University initiated a wave of demonstrations at college campuses across the country. Protesters in 2024 barricaded inside Hamilton Hall, calling for it to be renamed “Hind’s Hall,” after a 5-year-old girl who was killed by Israeli tank fire while in her family’s car in Gaza.
Officers repeatedly asked demonstrators to identify themselves and leave the building, though none have agreed to do so, Shipman said. The demonstrators were told they would be in violation of university rules and face possible arrest for trespassing if they didn’t disperse, Shipman added. Individuals not involved in the protest were able to exit the library, the university said.
“While this is isolated to one room in the library, it is completely unacceptable that some individuals are choosing to disrupt academic activities as our students are studying and preparing for final exams,” the university said. “These disruptions of our campus and academic activities will not be tolerated.”
The university has stated that those found in violation of university rules and policies “will face disciplinary consequences” during the ongoing demonstration.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said she has been briefed on the situation and is “grateful to public safety officials for keeping students safe.”