Campus protests live updates: NYPD officers with barricades amassing outside Columbia

A text alert from emergency management to Columbia students is telling them to shelter in place “due to heightened activity on the Morningside campus.”

It tells students to avoid the area, according to the alert obtained by NBC New York. It says disciplinary action may result if people don’t comply.

The message suggests that the NYPD could move in on protests. Neighboring and affiliated Barnard College also sent an alert about police activity.

With NYPD officers in riot gear approaching Columbia University’s campus, student protesters appeared undeterred.

About roughly 200 protesters stood outside — and several on top of — the university gates along Amsterdam Avenue and 116th Street, repeating their pleas for the university to divest from Israeli companies.

“We will not move. We will not bend,” they chanted. “The occupation has to end.”

Outside a gate next to Carman Hall at Columbia, officials warned the crowd to clear the area.

Public safety officials urged students to “stay inside” and “go back into the dorm."

Video shot in Manhattan near the campus of Columbia University shows police officers in riot gear a few hours after New York City Mayor Eric Adams said a protest there “must end.”

The video was taken at 114th and Broadway, next to the campus.

Adams and NYPD officials said outside agitators with no affiliation with Columbia have co-opted students’ protests against the war in Gaza and have their own agenda.

Police blamed outside groups for a dangerous change in tactics. Protesters with hammers broke into Hamilton Hall and barricaded it early this morning.

NYPD Commissioner Edward Caban said earlier that “right now” there is no timetable but that if Columbia asked the NYPD for assistance, it was ready to help.

As the night grows darker, people at Columbia and outside who have seen police officers mass and barricades go up wait to see how the night will unfold. 

Chanting continues at time, and there’s speculation among the crowd about when — not whether — police will take action.

A crowd gathering at the barricade on 113th is chanting, "Free Palestine," while Broadway, which is parallel to campus, is completely barricaded with no foot or motor traffic.

Joe Howley, a Columbia classics professor, says faculty members have been trying to work with the administration and students to find a resolution.

“Faculty have tried all day to get involved in this and resolve the situation," Howley said. "We have been shut out.”

Jelani Cobb, the dean of the journalism school, said attempts to restart negotiations tonight are “dead.”

The NYPD’s deputy commissioner of intelligence and counterterrorism says the concern with the outside group at Columbia is that it is using and teaching the types of tactics that will make it difficult for police to enter buildings and that it appears the group is “preparing for a fight” if police do enter.

Deputy Commissioner Rebecca Weiner told NBC News that the group of outside actors can best be described as anarchists who, as she said at this evening's news conference, are well-known to the NYPD.

She said they do not profess any particular ideology or political interest — they’re there to create confusion and engage, perhaps violently, with police.

She said it was the appearance of such actors — described as a handful in number — that led to the NYPD’s growing concern for what is happening at Columbia and what could happen if the schools asks the NYPD to act.

In addition to a growing number of officers who have arrived near Columbia's campus, trucks have arrived carrying barricades.

Police are lining up at Broadway and 116th.

The protests at Columbia have been taken over by outside agitators, and students should leave now, New York City Mayor Eric Adams said tonight.

“They are actively creating serious public safety issues,” the mayor said. “Maybe some of the students don’t understand what they are involved in.”

“We urge those and everyone else violating Columbia’s order to leave the area and leave the area now. And if you are a parent or guardian of a student, please call your child and urge them to leave the area before the situation escalates,” Adams said.

Police said early this morning when protesters broke windows at Columbia’s Hamilton Hall and took it over that officers were outside the Manhattan campus but not on the grounds.

Police said tonight that Columbia has not asked the NYPD to intervene.

“I’m urging every student and protester to walk away from this situation now, and continue your advocacy through other means,” Adams said.

“We cannot and will not allow what should be a peaceful gathering to turn into a violent spectacle that serves no purpose,” he said. “We cannot wait until this situation becomes even more serious. This must end now.”

New York City Mayor Eric Adams said that what should have been a peaceful protest at Columbia University “has basically been co-opted by professional outside agitators” who want to sow chaos.

Some of the external actors are known to police, said Rebecca Weiner, deputy commissioner for intelligence and counterterrorism, and others are seen in clear “black bloc” attire.

“What should have been a peaceful protest that is part of the constitutional rights of Americans has clearly been co-opted,” Adams said.

Early this morning, protesters with hammers broke windows at Hamilton Hall and took over the building, using furniture and other items to barricade the building.

Protesters at the University of South Florida in Tampa were hit with tear gas by officers on campus, according to NBC affiliate WFLA.

WFLA reported that protesters were warned at 4:50 p.m. ET that they must disband or be subjected to tear gas and rubber bullets. Tear gas was deployed 25 minutes later, and at least two people were detained.

Video feed from the news station showed students lined up using umbrellas as shields and others stood with their arms locked in a circle.

USF's student newspaper, The Oracle, reported that several protesters were arrested yesterday. One protester tried to build a tent and was stopped by university police.

Earlier this afternoon, pro-Palestinian demonstrators began gathering in front of Columbia University’s Amsterdam Avenue entrance, which is currently the only entry point to the university’s Morningside Heights campus.

Only residents of the Morningside Heights dorms as well as essential staff have access to the Morningside Heights campus.

Over the last hour, NYPD’s on-site presence outside the gates appears to have grown considerably. 

Student protesters at Brown University agreed to end their encampment today after assurances that they will be permitted to present their case on divestment to the school's trustees in the fall, university officials said.

Brown President Christina H. Paxson announced the agreement in a news release, saying that Paxson will ask the school's advisory committee to provide a recommendation on divestment by the end of September. The matter will then be brought to a vote at the October meeting of the corporation, Brown's governing body.

Additionally, a group of students will meet with five members of the governing body in May. Paxson said in a statement that she could not condone the encampment, which violated policy, but appreciated the "sincere efforts" from students to avoid escalation.

“The devastation and loss of life in the Middle East has prompted many to call for meaningful change, while also raising real issues about how best to accomplish this,” Paxson wrote. “Brown has always prided itself on resolving differences through dialog, debate and listening to each other."

As throngs of protesters chanted in unison on Amsterdam Avenue, one group on the public sidewalk and others behind the campus' locked gates, some Columbia University students squeezed by with luggage to exit through the public safety checkpoint.

One student walked through the security checkpoint with cardboard boxes.

Yesterday marked Columbia's last day of classes, and officials announced over the weekend that final exams would have remote options. For many, that means an opportunity to go home early as the campus has moved into a strict resident-only lockdown today.

In the backdrop of the somewhat unconventional move-out, student protesters inside the gate gathered to chant with demonstrators who gathered on the sidewalk in solidarity.

"Down, down with occupation," the groups chanted. "Up, up with liberation."

New York City officials are planning a news conference scheduled for 6 p.m. tonight to address the Columbia University protests.

Mayor Eric Adams and NYPD Commissioner Edward Caban are slated to speak to reporters. No additional details were provided.

Marie Adele Grosso, a sophomore at Barnard College who was arrested and suspended following her participation in the encampment at Columbia University, is continuing to show support for the Palestinian people outside campus gates.

"Palestine has always been a very important issue for me, it's a humanitarian issue," Grosso said. "We all should be doing our part to support it in any way, and this is one opportunity to do the small things we can to support."

Grosso said she would be at the encampment right now if she hadn't been suspended, adding that Columbia's administration is "not negotiating in good faith on this matter," prioritizing finances over "listening to students and caring about an active genocide."

"I think suspending students for peacefully protesting is absolutely unacceptable and shows that they are having a violent solution to a nonviolent action," Grosso said.

Addressing concerns that the protests at Columbia have been labeled antisemitic, Grosso said it's important to recognize the difference between anti-Zionism and antisemitism.

"The state of Israel does not represent Jewish people, they are separate," Grosso said. "There are Jewish people in Israel, but it does not represent all Jewish people."

A protester was seen waving a Palestinian flag this afternoon from atop the roof of the Columbia University building that a group of students took over overnight.

The National coalition and hate-incident reporting center Stop AAPI Hate condemned the arrest of hundreds of pro-Palestinian student protestors at college campuses across the country, describing the actions from universities and law enforcement as “violent suppression.” 

In a recent statement, Manjusha P. Kulkarni, co-founder of Stop AAPI Hate, said the organization was “alarmed and angered” by the treatment of student protesters. Citing the law enforcement use of chemical irritants for crowd control last week at Emory University in Atlanta, Kulkarni called on universities to “stand by their own values of academic freedom.” 

“We ask administrators to stop targeting students who express pro-Palestinian views, as USC recently did when it barred its South Asian American valedictorian, Asna Tabassum, from speaking at graduation,” Kulkarni said in the statement. “Most urgently, we call on universities to remove law enforcement from sites of peaceful protest and cease the use of violence on demonstrators. All students — Asian American and Pacific Islander, Muslim, Jewish, Palestinian and otherwise — have the right to safely and peacefully stand up for their views.”

Dozens of demonstrators gathered outside Columbia's campus on Amsterdam Avenue at a locked gate near Hamilton Hall in solidarity with student protesters.

Refrains of "Disclose. Divest. We will not rest until you divest," were chanted as they stood on the public sidewalk outside the university. A group of students inside the gates walked over and joined, chanting, "We will honor all our martyrs."

As they stood at the gate, they clapped and shouted, "When Gaza is under attack, what do we do? Stand up fight back."

Leaders of the student groups behind the Columbia University encampment — CUAD, SJP and JVP — said they were not given a heads-up about this morning's takeover of Hamilton Hall and described those behind the building break-in as an “autonomous” group. 

Maryam Alwan, who was arrested and suspended when Columbia University brought NYPD to campus earlier this month, described suspensions that went out this morning as “arbitrary” and alleged it included one student who was not in New York City yesterday when the deadline went out. 

“It just feels like this university is so far beyond the law and their own policies and regulations that all of us have no idea what could come,” Alwan said. “We might be targeted by association.” 

A student, who would not identify themselves out of safety concerns, told reporters earlier that Palestinian refugee Mahmoud Khalil was suspended this morning and barred from campus, which Alwan also confirmed. Khalil has spoken to media in recent weeks and had been participating in negotiations but said he was not part of the encampment, because arrest or discipline could risk his visa as an international student. 

NBC News cameras saw Khalil and another student negotiator denied access to campus today.

Organizers are getting supplies, such as food and water, to protesters inside Columbia's Hamilton Hall in a makeshift delivery system via ropes.

Dozens of protesters took over the building early this morning. The university has threatened to expel students who remain inside.

A student protest organizer said that since last night, Columbia University has targeted at least three Palestinian students for suspension, allegedly "regardless of their involvement" in the encampment protest — including one involved in Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD) negotiations.

Columbia has not provided details about the suspended students.

The student organizer, who declined to share her name at an afternoon news conference, said Hamilton Hall was taken over by “autonomous protesters” who are in solidarity with CUAD’s demands for the university to divest and for financial transparency regarding its investments and holdings. 

She said this morning's takeover of the campus building was met with mass support by students.

It's not clear how many students have been suspended since the school's deadline yesterday to vacate the encampment, but the organizer gave a rough estimate of at least 20.

“I don’t think we have any plans on stopping any time soon," she said about the three sites of ongoing campus protests.

The partial lockdown at Columbia took many students and staffers by surprise as they were unexpectedly turned away from campus today.

“This is my job. So yeah, it’s kind of inconvenient,” lab tech David Johnson said after being denied entry at 116th Street and Amsterdam Avenue. “Up to now, everything seemed normal, just having to swipe in."

Physics doctoral candidate Varun Lochab will have to work without access to some of his material. 

“I would like to go up my office to do my work, so this is a problem,” Lochab said after being turned away.  “It’s not the students (protesters at fault). I feel like the administration should be doing more to de-escalate and not escalate the situation," he said.

A school spokesperson said that access to campus was limited as a "safety measure."

Students occupying parts of Columbia University's campus are being suspended, a school spokesperson said today. 

“We regret that protesters have chosen to escalate the situation through their actions. Our top priority is restoring safety and order on our campus,” school spokesperson Ben Chang said. “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 still occupying Hamilton Hall face expulsion, he said.

He noted that protesters were informed that their participation in the pro-Palestinian encampment on campus violated “numerous university policies” and they were offered a 2 p.m. deadline to leave and be allowed to complete the semester.

"Students who did not commit to the terms we offered are now being suspended," Chang said.

Biden “has stood against repugnant, Antisemitic smears and violent rhetoric his entire life. He condemns the use of the term ‘intifada,’ as he has the other tragic and dangerous hate speech displayed in recent days,” White House spokesperson Andrew Bates said today.

While the president “respects the right to free expression,” protests should be “peaceful and lawful,” the statement said. 

“Forcibly taking over buildings is not peaceful — it is wrong. And hate speech and hate symbols have no place in America,” Bates added. 

The comment comes after Columbia’s Hamilton Hall was occupied by protesters overnight and a banner that said “INTIFADA” and “STUDENT INTIFADA” — an Arabic word meaning uprising or rebellion — was visible flying from the building.

There were two Palestinian intifadas — in 1987, and between 2000 and 2005 — which saw widespread civil disobedience and violence that was met with a strong Israeli military response. In the second intifada, more than 4,000 Palestinians and 1,000 Israelis died, according to the UN, which tallied deaths until 2007. 

Since then, the phrase has become part of the lexicon of pro-Palestinian protesters across the world, while different groups interpret the term differently. The Anti-Defamation League refers to intifada as a “reference to violent Palestinian uprisings against Israel, while the Council on American-Islamic Relations says it is used as “the Arabic word for uprising.” CAIR says using intifada as a term referencing “killing Jews” is a “false claim. 

Columbia University on Tuesday added an $80 flex sum for dining plan holders “in light of campus restrictions impacting access to several Columbia Dining locations.”

Plan holders can use the flex at off-campus locations or for online food delivery. 

Columbia Dining spaces are still operating with adjustments. The university said: “Dining Plan Holders who are unable to access the South Lawn may also dine at Grace Dodge Dining Hall at Teachers College.”

Footage taken from Columbia’s campus shows some students attempting to block protesters from Hamilton Hall overnight. 

One video showed protesters form a human chain around an individual to prevent them from entering Hamilton Hall. 

The person, who was in a polo, said, “That is 100% assault. Is someone recording this?” though no assault was visible in the footage as he pushed against the chain. 

There have been over 1,200 arrests made so far related to pro-Palestinian protests and encampments on college campuses across the country, according to a tally by NBC News.

Some of the latest numbers include:

• Seventy-nine people arrested at UT Austin protests yesterday — though it’s not clear how many were students. Most were charged with criminal trespass, one with an additional charge of obstructing a highway or passageway and one charged with interfering with public duties, according to the Travis County sheriff’s office. 
• Three arrested at the University of South Florida's Tampa campus — one student, one employee and one person unaffiliated with the school.
• Twenty-five people arrested from Cal Poly Humboldt early Tuesday as protests at Siemens Hall and Nelson Hall East were cleared by law enforcement.

The New York Police Department received several 911 calls from Columbia University last night as a protest occurred at a school building, according to the department's chief spokesperson. The NYPD, paired with Columbia school safety, determined that there were no physical threats to anyone and no lives in danger. 

There were acts of criminal mischief in and around the building, but Columbia did not want the NYPD to enter and make arrests or charge any individuals for that mischief, which included vandalism, the spokesperson said.

At an unrelated press conference this morning, NYPD Chief Jeffrey Maddrey said: "As of right now the NYPD is always ready but we will not be going onto Columbia’s property without a specific request from them," noting "unless there’s imminent danger, imminent emergency, where we have to go on the property."

Access to Columbia University’s campus is restricted today “as a safety measure,” a school spokesperson said. 

“Media access will be restored when safety conditions change,” the spokesperson said. 

Barnard College, which is affiliated with Columbia, also moved to Barnard ID access only, barring guests from campus and canceling all in-person events.

Arrests were made Tuesday morning at the University of Connecticut's encampment protest. 

There were about 20 tents in the encampment as of yesterday afternoon, and protesters ignored school warnings take down the tents, a school spokesperson said. 

“UConn Police directed them four times on Tuesday morning to remove the tents and disperse, and they again repeatedly ignored the directives," university spokesperson Stephanie Reitz said. "Officers then entered the site to remove the tents and tarps, and to arrest those who refused compliance." It's not immediately clear how many people were arrested. NBC News is out to UConn Police for comment.

It comes after the school on Friday shared guidelines with protest organizers that such protests are permitted but "safety, health, and basic community standards need to be recognized and maintained, both in the interest of those who are gathering as well as other community members who may be impacted."

Unlike at several other campuses this morning, the pro-Palestinian protest encampment at Yale ended peacefully in the last few hours with no arrests made, the college said in a statement.

The encampment was set up Sunday, and college administrators had told protesters that it violated university policies and was disrupting campus life.

"All the protesters chose to leave the encampment, and the university is in the process of clearing tents and other items from the area," the statement said.

The college said some protesters, however, remained on surrounding streets.

One person was charged with battery on a law enforcement officer, for allegedly spitting on a police officer as a protest was broken up at the University of Florida last night.

They were among nine people arrested by University of Florida Police and Florida Highway Patrol, the university's director of public affairs, Cynthia Roldan Hernandez, said in a statement. Other charges include failure to obey a lawful command, resistance without violence, and trespassing after warning.

Earlier, a university spokesman told protesters they would not be treated like children and that the university is "not a daycare."

The university shared a list prohibited activities on campus, which includes camping, sleeping and erecting unmanned signs.

Over 1,000 alumni from Columbia University wrote a letter to the school’s president, Minouche Shafik, yesterday demanding the removal of “illegal encampments” and to “immediately restore safety for all students.”

“Enough is enough. Antisemitism is never acceptable. Ever,” the letter said. 

The letter pointed out how over the past week, suspended students defied decrees by returning to the encampment and students allegedly tried to intimidate a Jewish student in a “zionist free zone.”

The letter also criticized Shafik’s letter to the community yesterday that demanded protesters clear out by 2 p.m. — an order that protesters resisted, saying it “did not meet our expectations from leadership.”

As pro-Palestinian protests continue on colleges across the nation, House Speaker Mike Johnson will later today announce what his team call a "House-wide crackdown on the virus of antisemitism spreading throughout college campuses."

Without specifying what measures this will include, a short press release said that House Republicans would "expand a wide-ranging investigation focused on holding accountable college and university administrators who fail at their core responsibility: keeping their students safe."

As campus protests were gaining momentum last week, Johnson called on Columbia's president, Minouche Shafik, to stand down if she couldn't quell the growing encampment at Columbia's Morningside Heights campus.

"As speaker of the House, I’m committing today that the Congress will not be silent as Jewish students are expected to run for their lives and stay home from their classes hiding in fear," he said last week.

Students waved Palestinian flags during a rally in support of Palestinians near the entrance of the Institute of Political Studies building in Grenoble, France today.Lebanese students also gathered to wave a giant Palestinian flag at the main entrance of the American University of Beirut.

Demonstrations continue to escalate at Columbia University as protesters occupy a building on campus and bar the doors. This comes as the school started suspending students who refused to leave an encampment after a deadline passed.

As of this morning, there is only one way in, or out, of Columbia University's Morningside Heights campus — and only students who live there and essential maintenance staff are allowed through.

The college's public safety team said in an update that the only access point is now at 116th Street and Amsterdam Gate. Barriers have been erected at the usual entrance at 116th and Broadway.

"This access restriction will remain in place until circumstances allow otherwise," the update said.

Earlier, the college urged students to stay away from campus in light of the ongoing protests.

Police were seen removing tents and protesters from an encampment at the University of North Carolina's Chapel Hill from 6 a.m. this morning, according to footage shot by NBC affiliate WRAL of Raleigh.

WRAL reporters saw people with their hands zip-tied being led away and placed in police vehicles. The school said Monday that anyone camping within view of the administration building faced arrest.

The footage showed police officers scuffling with protesters as they dismantled tents and removed tables, air beds and signs.

The UNC-Chapel Hill Students for Justice in Palestine group shared footage on its Instagram account of protesters linking arms to prevent arrests. But it then said after 6.30 a.m. that all members of the "inner encampment" were arrested.

The University of Florida said protesters who broke the rules face being banned from campus for three years suspended from the college, in a message that warned they would not be treated like children.

At least nine were arrested at the University of Florida campus in Gainesville last night, while three were arrested at the University of South Florida campus in Tampa, according to NBC affiliate WPTV of West Palm Beach.

"This is not complicated: The University of Florida is not a daycare, and we do not treat protesters like children — they knew the rules, they broke the rules, and they'll face the consequences." spokesman Steve Orlando said in a statement.

He said the college had "patiently told protesters — many of whom are outside agitators — that they were able to exercise their right to free speech and assembly."

But he added that this did not extend to rule-breaking and that those responsible had ignored warnings.

Protesters at Columbia University have compared their takeover of Hamilton Hall to past movements that saw students occupy the storied building, including the historic 1968 protests against the Vietnam War.

In a statement outlining their demands, demonstrators said the building's takeover represented the "next generation of the 1968, 1985 and 1992 student movements which Columbia once repressed, yet celebrates today."

On its website, Columbia notes how New York City police stormed the campus back in 1968, arresting more than 700 people in an event that "dogged Columbia for years." Today, the "1968 crisis" sits at the top of the school's list of "history and traditions" on its libraries website.

In addition to the 1968 protests against the Vietnam War, demonstrators also referenced demonstrations at the site in 1985, when protesters occupied Hamilton Hall demanding the university divest from companies doing business in South Africa during apartheid and in 1992, when protesters took over the hall rallying against the school's plans to turn the Audubon Ballroom, where Malcolm X was assassinated in 1965, into a biomedical research center.

Despite warnings of suspension for any students involved in the encampment, pro-Palestinian protesters appear to have set up another one in a nearby spot on the main campus.

At least 17 tents were on Lewisohn Lawn, outside Lewisohn Hall, at 3 a.m. this morning. That's a short walk from Hamilton Hall, which protesters have occupied.

A campus building at Princeton University was briefly occupied by pro-Palestinian protesters late last night, before 13 people involved with the incident were arrested, the college said.

Princeton President Chris Eisgruber said the protesters occupied Clio Hall, where the graduate school is based. Of those arrested, five were undergraduates, six were graduate students, one was a postdoctoral researcher and another was not affiliated with the university, he said.

All have been banned from campus and the students could face suspension or expulsion.

Eisgruber said staff had found the incident upsetting and called it "completely unacceptable."

Students should avoid Columbia University's main campus in Morningside Heights today, the college said in an email to students, hours after pro-Palestinian protesters took control of the Hamilton Hall building.

"In light of of the protest activity on campus, members of the University community who can avoid coming to the Morningside campus today (Tuesday, April 30) should do so," the message said.

"The safety of every single member of this community is paramount," it said.

A police operation at Tulane University in New Orleans arrested six people late last night, after the college warned students that an encampment would be considered illegal, but a protest encampment there remains in place.

Some students have also been suspended, the university said in a statement early today, while some campus buildings will be shut today and classes held remotely.

The university stressed that "the overwhelming number of these protestors are unaffiliated with Tulane."

"We want to be clear: We do not condone and will not allow trespassing, hate speech, antisemitism and bias against religious or ethnic groups, harassment, intimidation, violence, and other criminal acts on any of our campuses," college president Michael A. Fitts said.

TEL AVIV — Israel is waiting for Hamas to provide its response to the current cease-fire proposal before sending its own negotiators to Cairo, an Israeli official told NBC News this morning. 

The official said that in an effort to show flexibility in the talks, Israel had agreed to allow larger numbers of Palestinian civilians to return to northern Gaza than previously countenanced. The question of civilians going back to the north has been a key sticking point in the talks.  

Hamas officials were in Cairo yesterday to discuss the proposal with Egypt. Bassem Naim, a senior Hamas official, tells NBC News that delegation has now left the Egyptian capital.

The U.S. is trying to secure a new truce deal that would see the release of hostages and head off a possible Israeli ground assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is in the Middle East leading a diplomatic push.

Among the flags flying from Columbia University's Hamilton Hall early morning was one emblazoned with "INTIFADA" and "STUDENT INTIFADA," an Arabic word meaning uprising or rebellion that has been used by Palestinians for decades.

There were two Palestinian intifadas — in 1987, and between 2000 and 2005 — which saw widespread civil disobedience and violence that was met with a strong Israeli military response.

But the phrase has since become part of the lexicon of pro-Palestinian protesters across the world, sometimes written or chanted as "Globalize the Intifada."

In London, nine people were arrested in December for displaying the phrase on a banner outside a building police believe was being used as a squat.

Police arrested 17 protesters at the University of Utah late last night, after hundreds had picketed administrators as part of the national pro-Palestinian protest movement.

The arrests were made by 11:45 p.m. last night, the university said in a statement, after multiple law enforcement authorities moved into disperse the protest after 11 p.m. The university had warned protesters they were breaking both state regulations and its own rules.

Officers removed about a dozen tents, as well as stashes of water, food and toilet paper, the university said, adding that some voluntarily took down their tent.

"Campuses serve as a stage and forum for not just students, but for members of the community who want their voice to be heard. We honor all voices, but the right to speech on our campus must occur within the confines of state law and campus policies," Keith Squires, the university’s chief safety officer said in the statement.

The university said the final exams taking place this week will continue today.

Student protesters at Columbia University use a variety of items to block doorways inside Hamilton Hall in the early hours of this morning.

In one photo, a group can be seen shoving what appears to be a campus vending machine and a stack of chairs against a door.

Another group of balaclava wearing men raise a large table on it's end to block an entrance, with a crowbar also discarded on the floor.

Elsewhere, students dressed in Columbia University clothing, wear blue medical gloves as they transfer metal barriers inside Hamilton Hall.

Protesters formed a human chain outside Hamilton Hall, which was occupied after midnight today, as the crowd sang "we shall not be moved."

Student protesters have organized themselves into “platoons” based on how willing they are to be arrested, one student on campus who asked not to be named for fear of reprisals told NBC News early today. The groups are called "red rolls" and "yellow rolls."

A maintenance worker confronts demonstrators attempting to barricade themselves inside Hamilton Hall at Columbia University in New York City in the early hours of Tuesday morning.

A student protest group at Columbia confirmed its members had "reclaimed" the Hamilton Hall building just after midnight and would continue there until Columbia concedes to the movement's demands, which include cutting ties with Israeli institutions.

Columbia University Apartheid Divest said on X: "Liberators acting in solidarity with Palestine continue to hold themselves to a higher standard than Columbia."

The statement addressed Columbia's administrators and trustees and referenced deadly crackdowns on anti-Vietnam war rallies, warning them not to "incite another Kent or Jackson State by bringing soldiers and police officers with weapons onto our campus: Students' blood will be on your hands."

Protesters at Columbia University stormed a building on campus overnight, renaming the storied Hamilton Hall as "Hind's Hall" in honor of Hind Rajab — the six-year-old girl who was killed in Israel's offensive in Gaza after begging first responders to save her life in harrowing calls later published online.

Hind's story sparked outrage around the world earlier this year after she was found dead in a vehicle in Gaza City with several of her loved ones, who were also killed.

She had been missing for 12 days after pleading with first responders to save her, with phone call recordings showing a frightened Hind imploring rescuers to “come take me. Please, will you come?”

Her mother told NBC News of her devastation after her daughter's body was found in February. The remains of two paramedics dispatched to save her were also found in a burnt out ambulance nearby.

Read more about Hind Rajab

Dozens of protesters gained entry to Columbia University's historic Hamilton Hall in the early hours of this morning, smashing windows and flying pro-Palestinian flags from the windows.

Protesters invoked the famous anti-Vietnam War protests of 1968, when students occupied the same hall. "Let's finish what they did in 1968," one said. "This building is now being liberated," said another.

Protesters unfurled a homemade flag declaring they had re-named it "HIND'S HALL," in honor of 6-year-old Hind Rajab, who was found dead in Gaza in February.

Protesters at Columbia University broke windows at the Manhattan campus’ Hamilton Hall early Tuesday, hours after the school began suspending students who defied a deadline to leave a pro-Palestinian camp set up to protest the war in Gaza.

NBC News could not confirm how many people were inside Hamilton Hall, but the university’s student newspaper, the Columbia Spectator, reported that dozens of protesters had occupied the building.

Read the full story here.