Nearly half of NYC arrests involved people not affiliated with schools, officials say

Pro-Palestinian demonstrators gathered outside Columbia University President Minouche Shafik’s residence tonight and chanted “shame on you” — as they unleashed the annual “primal scream.”

The chants have been used before and throughout Columbia and the NYPD’s response to the demonstrations against the war in Gaza.

But the scream is a twist on an annual tradition that typically marks the beginning of finals. Students yell their frustrations and worries away out of windows or near Butler Library.

Finals that were scheduled for tomorrow have been postponed to May 10.

Shafik has been criticized by some over the university’s response to the protests on campus, which included encampments and a group’s seizing control of Hamilton Hall and barricading it. Protesters also demanded that Columbia divest from companies linked to Israel.

The University of Pennsylvania today asked the city of Philadelphia, where its campus is, for help as protests have escalated and as an encampment has grown, the university said.

“Protest activity began to escalate overnight and has steadily continued, with large crowds in and around College Green today. We have reached out to the City of Philadelphia to ensure we have the necessary resources to keep our community safe,” the university, known as Penn, said in a statement.

The university said earlier that a large demonstration on the College Green affected pedestrian traffic and that Philadelphia police were assisting.

Penn property has also been defaced, the university said. It also said protesters were using “threatening rhetoric and chants.”

Today a group of Jewish students and other pro-Israel protesters rallied and went to the university president's office on campus to call for an end to the encampment, NBC Philadelphia reported. Penn professor Benjamin Abella told the station that they have seen flags of “known terrorist groups” at the encampment and that they've heard what they consider hate speech, including calls for "intifada," or uprising.

The Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office has not received any submissions for charges for those arrested at protests at UCLA or USC, spokesperson Ivor Pine said today.

The city attorney’s office handles misdemeanor cases, and the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office has jurisdiction over felonies in the city of Los Angeles.

Los Angeles County public defender Ricardo García said in a statement earlier today that his office was “committed to providing legal representation and support to those who have been arrested or who may face legal proceedings.”

He said the office deployed a rapid response team to help those arrested.

Eight arrests have been made after people pulled down a fence and re-entered the Millar Library on Portland State University's campus, Portland, Oregon, police said.

Pro-Palestinian protesters occupied the library Monday. Portland police closed the area around it and began clearing the building this morning.

Police said protesters left a slippery substance on the floor, which they claimed was intended to make officers entering the building slip and fall. Over 20 arrests were made today.

This evening, Portland police arrested seven people and campus police arrested one person after people tore down fencing and re-entered the library.

Portland State University said that its campus was closed today and that no one was authorized to be in the library.

A NYPD officer accidentally fired a gun inside Hamilton Hall on Tuesday when police entered it to clear it of protesters, officials said.

The City first reported that an officer fired his gun inside Hamilton Hall, on Columbia’s campus.

Doug Cohen, as spokesperson for the Manhattan district attorney’s office, confirmed the office was reviewing the incident, as is its policy for such incidents, he said.

“Nobody was injured, and no students were in the immediate vicinity,” Cohen said, adding the gun was not aimed at anyone.

The NYPD said an emergency service unit officer was searching an area on the first floor and was trying to access a barricaded area. The officer was using his firearm, which had a flashlight, to illuminate the area and find the best way through when he accidentally discharged the gun, police said.

A single round was discharged and hit a frame in the wall a few feet away, police said.

No one except police personnel were within “sight or sound” of the discharge, the department said. Body camera video has been sent to the DA’s office.

Since mid-April, campuses across the country have been the sites of encampments, protests and counterprotests as students have demanded Palestinian liberation and for their schools to call for a cease-fire and divest their endowments from Israel and companies they say are profiting from the war.

Columbia University will expand campus access to include all faculty members at the Morningside campus starting tomorrow.

The faculty access is in addition to the already existing access for students who live on campus and for employees who provide "essential services," the school said.

The only access to Columbia's campus is the 116th Street and Amsterdam Avenue entrance. All other points of entry will remain closed.

Faculty lost access to campus following the occupation of Hamilton Hall on Tuesday, which led the university to call in the NYPD to break up protests and the occupation.

"Every student deserves to be safe and live peacefully on their campus. Harassment, vandalism and violence have no place at UCLA or anywhere in our city," Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said in a post on X after clashes between police and student protesters at UCLA early today.

Bass said her office will coordinate with law enforcement, universities and community leaders "to keep campuses safe and peaceful."

After protests at both Columbia University and City College of New York on Tuesday, 74 people have been arraigned, the Manhattan DA's office said.

From Columbia, 46 people were arraigned on one count each of third-degree criminal trespass. All were arrested inside Hamilton Hall, the DA's office said.

At a news conference today, Ben Chang, Columbia's vice president of communications, said 13 people arrested inside Hamilton Hall were not affiliated with the university, six were from affiliated institutions, 14 were Columbia undergrads, nine were Columbia grad students, and two were Columbia employees.

At CCNY, 22 people were arraigned on one count each of third-degree burglary and obstructing governmental administration, the DA's office said.

They "unlawfully gained entry" to a CCNY building and "erected barricades to prevent police from entering the building," the DA's office said. They also blocked doors with furniture and threw items at police, it alleged.

In addition to the 22, five more people were arraigned on charges of second-degree assault, the DA's office said. It is unclear where the remaining five were arrested.

Of the 112 people arrested Tuesday in protests at Columbia, 29% were not affiliated with the school, New York City officials said.

That breaks down to the arrests of 32 nonstudents and 80 students, Mayor Eric Adams and NYPD Commissioner Edward A. Caban said in a joint statement.

The same day, 170 people were arrested at a protest at City College of New York. In that instance, 60% of those arrested, or 102 people, were not affiliated with CCNY, the statement said.

According to the statement, the NYPD's process to try to identify whether those arrested were affiliated with either school has been slowed, as most did not cooperate with police and refused to provide the information.

The statement added that many of those arrested were adhering to self-described rules for entering their encampments, "one of which included not talking to or divulging any information to members of the NYPD."

Charges have ranged from burglary, obstructing governmental administration and criminal mischief to resisting arrest, trespassing and disorderly conduct, the statement said.

Rutgers University students involved in protests at Voorhees Mall agreed to dismantle their encampment, clear the mall and "peacefully end their protest," Chancellor Francine Conway said in a statement.

The school had instructed students to dismantle the encampment by 4 p.m. today or they would be removed with the assistance of law enforcement. The deadline was set after the university canceled final exams this morning.

Conway said in the statement that the “resolution was achieved through constructive dialogue between the protesting students and our leadership teams.”

"As per the Rutgers University Policy on Disruptions, we do not condone this morning’s disruption but recognize the necessity of balancing free speech and peaceful protest with our educational, research, and operational imperatives," the statement said.

Conway said students involved in protests have said they want "representation within our community," including a cultural center, diversity initiatives and representation in curriculum through partnerships.

The statement also acknowledged that the students have requested that Rutgers "divest from companies engaged in Israel and to sever ties with Tel Aviv University."

Conway said that "such decisions fall outside of our administrative scope" but added that the request is under review.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott today declared May as Jewish American Heritage Month in the state.

"It is imperative now more than ever that we stand in solidarity with Israel & the Jewish community," Abbott said in a post on X, alongside the proclamation.

"We will always stand in support of Israel & celebrate the role Jewish Americans have played in our great state," he said.

LOS ANGELES — A first-year UCLA student was greeted with shouts and hugs today as he stepped outside a Los Angeles Police Department processing center.

Imran, who asked that his last name not be used because of his pending court hearing, wore a yellow UCLA Bruin Proud T-shirt. In one hand, he carried a plastic bag containing his wallet and other belongings police confiscated during his arrest. In the other were containers of water and apple juice provided by volunteers.

A swollen red line from zip ties used during his arrest circled both wrists. He said that sometime around 1 a.m., officers in riot gear started to push protesters farther onto the lawn surrounding the encampment.

Imran said he was repeatedly hit in the stomach and chest with a police baton while he linked arms with protesters to prevent officers from destroying the encampment.

“We literally didn’t have any weapons,” he said of the protesters.

Standing outside the processing center, Imran shook his head in bewilderment as he recalled the five hours he sat in a jail bus with dozens of other protesters.

“That was honestly the worst part,” he said. “I’ve never been in a prison bus. It’s like being in a cage. So brutal.”

Imran was charged with unlawful assembly and is scheduled to appear in court in July. 

UCLA decided to call in police to disassemble the encampment that had been up on campus for the last week "to preserve campus safety" after it was unable to reach an agreement with demonstration leaders to disband it voluntarily, Chancellor Gene D. Block wrote in a statement today.

The statement said the university has been toying with how to approach the encampment, keeping in mind campus safety, disruptions to teaching and learning and free speech expression.

"The events of the past several days, and especially the terrifying attack on our students, faculty and staff on Tuesday night, have challenged our efforts to live up to these principles and taken an immense toll on our community," Block said.

He said that the goal was to keep the encampment up as long as it did not jeopardize the safety of those on campus but that "ultimately, the site became a focal point for serious violence as well as a huge disruption to our campus."

The statement called the Royce Quad encampment "unlawful and a breach of policy," as "it led to unsafe conditions on our campus and it damaged our ability to carry out our mission."

LOS ANGELES — Ginger Shankar, a Los Angeles resident who is not a UCLA student but joined the campus protests, heard police helicopters begin circling above UCLA’s encampment around 9 o’clock last night.

Four hours later, she said, chaos erupted as police shot tear gas and rubber bullets into the encampment indiscriminately.

“They were so crazy,” Shankar said. “They just kept shooting.”

Around 5:30 a.m. today, she joined dozens of protesters who had locked arms to prevent police from entering the encampment.

She said she heard an officer say: “Whose arm are we going to dislocate?”

Administrators at the University of California, Santa Barbara, are pleading with the protesters to cut the graduating class some slack.

"UC Santa Barbara has a tradition of student engagement and activism in which students exercise their First Amendment while respecting the rights of the entire campus community," UCSB said in a statement.

But, the statement continued, "many students who were deprived of their high school graduation ceremonies by the pandemic four years ago are now looking forward to their UCSB Commencement and the culmination of their undergraduate education."

"We owe it to them to allow them to complete their studies in an environment that supports teaching and learning. We encourage everyone to work together to protect the safety and collegiality of our academic community."

UCSB reported that protesters staged an "unpermitted rally" on Wednesday and erected an "unauthorized" encampment on the campus.

"We recognize that the violence and suffering in the Middle East have caused great distress in our campus community and we urgently hope that a peaceful resolution will be found," the statement said.

Benjamin Kersten, a UCLA student and member of the student group Jewish Voice for Peace, said the encampment was peaceful until counterprotesters stormed in and police swarmed the area.

“I’ve spent lots of time in the encampment,” Kersten said this morning, with flash-bangs set off by police audible in the background. “It’s clear to me that this encampment would have been a peaceful endeavor if not for the continual presence of counterprotesters and now a very large, significant presence of law enforcement. It’s an intense scene here.

“I’m hearing that peers and colleagues of mine are being thrown into the ground and possibly hurt with rubber bullets.”

Asked about outside groups’ hijacking protests, Kersten said: “I’ve certainly seen community support for the encampment. But I would describe the encampment very much as student-led. I think what I found most concerning is the rotating presence of counterprotesters, including their late hours of the night.”

“The university had any chances to take meaningful action and hear out their students concerns about what matters to them, in this case pressuring the university to divest and boycott in an effort to end its complicity in an ongoing genocide against Palestinians. And instead, the university chose a course of nonaction,” Kersten added.

University of Wisconsin-Madison officials have agreed not to call in police to sweep the university’s campus encampment protest today after a meeting with student organizers. 

Student organizers this morning met with administrators to discuss police violence and to demand divestment and a public declaration urging a cease-fire in Gaza. 

Another meeting is expected within the next 24 hours, and organizers will continue their protest programming today.

“I think a lot of us are going to sleep a little more comfortably knowing that we won’t be woken up by police,” Abbie Klein, a Ph.D. student who has stayed in the encampment since it popped up Monday, told NBC News. "However, that’s bare minimum, and we shouldn’t have to be relieved by that."

Rutgers University officials said all tents and protesters must be cleared out by 4 p.m. today.

A rally this morning at Voorhees Mall on the New Brunswick, New Jersey, campus disrupted 28 scheduled exams and affected more than 1,000 students. Officials postponed exams.

“This morning, we met again with the students representing the protest, again expressing our concerns for safety and student success, and informed them that their tents need to be removed from Voorhees Mall by 4 pm today,” school President Jonathan Holloway and Rutgers–New Brunswick Chancellor Francine Conway said in a statement. 

Those who don't comply and disperse will be removed with the assistance of law enforcement. Voorhees Mall and other places where university business is conducted must also be cleared of protesters “for the remainder of the semester,” the statement said.

"We value free speech and the right to protest, but it should not come at the cost of our students’ education and safety. We strive to balance these rights and maintain a safe and secure environment for our students to learn and succeed," the statement said.

Northeastern University said 98 people were arrested after police Saturday cleared out an encampment that formed last Thursday. 

Twenty-nine of the arrested were students, six were faculty and staff members, and 63 were people not affiliated with the university, a school spokesperson said in a statement. 

The school said university police concluded that the protest would soon present a threat to the safety of those involved after it drew a number of protesters not affiliated with the school. Multiple notices were given to disperse before police moved in. 

Students who produced valid Northeastern IDs were released and will face disciplinary proceedings, not legal action. 

Four of the protesters arrested at pro-Palestinian demonstrations at Columbia University and City College of New York are "outside protest influencers," not students at the schools, a senior law enforcement official said.

All four have been charged with burglary and illegal entry, the official said. They are:

James W. Carlson, whom the official described as "a long-time figure in the anarchist world" with multiple aliases, like Cody Tarlow and Cody Carlson.

Citing California arrest records, the official said Carlson was arrested in 2005 during the violent G8 protests in San Francisco for he attacked a police officer. He was charged with "suspicion of attempted lynching, malicious mischief, battery to a police officer, aggravated assault on a police officer with a deadly weapon and willful resistance to a police officer that results in serious bodily injury."

The official did not say whether Carlson was convicted or served any time.

Carlson has also been suspected of burning an Israeli flag during a demonstration, and he was "previously involved in recent bridge and tunnel blocking," said the official, who gave no further specifics.

Amelia Fuller was arrested near CCNY.

Previously, Fuller had been arrested on Jan. 8 for taking part in a pro-Palestinian protest to blockade the Williamsburg Bridge, which connects Manhattan to Brooklyn.

The New York Botanical Garden also fired Fuller, the official said, after she appeared in a video allegedly declaring that she felt "proud" after Hamas staged the Oct. 7 massacre of Israelis that sparked the Gaza War.

The Botanical Garden did not immediately respond to a request for confirmation.

Jacob Issac Gabriel, who was also arrested near CCNY, and has had "numerous protest-related arrests," the official said.

Gabriel, the official said, was part of a group that disrupted the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade last year.

Rudy Ralph Martinez, who was arrested near CCNY, "has an extensive history of protest-related arrests dating back to California in 2012," the official said.

Twelve protesters were arrested after police rousted them from the library at Portland State University, police in Portland, Oregon, reported on social media.

They were part of a larger group that had taken over the library and barricaded the doors in anticipation of a standoff, the police bureau said.

"We have found caches of tools, what appears to be improvised weapons, ball bearings, paint balloons, spray bottles of ink, and DIY armor," police posted on X. "None of this was used on police."

LOS ANGELES — It was a chaotic scene outside the Twin Towers jail this morning as UCLA protesters and counterprotesters who were arrested overnight were being processed.

The streets around the downtown jail were closed and a crowd was gathered outside the jail, chanting, "Free, free Palestine!" Every time an arrestee came out of the center, the crowd would clap and cheer. They were being cited and released.

A business owner across the street said the crowd began gathering around 9 a.m.

Some UCLA faculty members had also come to the reception center to show their support for their students.

At the jail's inmate reception center, many young people who appeared to be college age stood outside with tickets in hand. The crowd erupted in cheers every time someone stepped outside.

Some of those arrested came out in tears.

Los Angeles County public defenders and National Lawyers Guild attorneys also arrived to offer legal help.

Volunteers passed out bagels, tamales, water and other snacks to those arrested.

California Highway Patrol officers have now arrested 209 protesters at UCLA, two law enforcement sources apprised of the ongoing operation to clear the campus said.

And the cost to remove the pro-Palestinian encampment, an action that began with a predawn raid, has climbed into the "multiple millions of dollars" range, the sources said.

It was not immediately clear how many of those arrested were UCLA students or faculty members or whether any outsiders were swept up in the raid, the sources said.

That information may not be known for days, they said.

Most are expected to be slapped with misdemeanor trespassing or vandalism charges before they are released, the sources said. Some could face more serious assault and battery charges stemming from attacks on police officers.

Prosecutions of misdemeanors are generally handled by the Los Angeles city attorney, the sources said, but it’s possible some of more serious cases will be prosecuted by the Los Angeles County district attorney and the state attorney general.

After Biden wrapped up his remarks this morning, a reporter asked if the protests have caused him to reconsider his policies in the Middle East region, to which the president replied, “No.”

When asked if the National Guard should intervene, he also said, “No,” before walking out of the Roosevelt Room. 

So far, there have been at least 2,138 arrests at college protests across the country, according to an NBC News tally.

The arrests came from at least 60 colleges and institutions participating in protests and encampments in solidarity with the Palestinian cause and calling for their schools to divest from Israel.

Some of the latest numbers include:

• Twelve arrested at the University of New Hampshire last night — 10 students and two who are not affiliated with the university — all charged with disorderly conduct and trespassing. 
• Four arrested at Yale last night — two students and two non-students, charged with criminal trespass and disorderly conduct.
• Twenty-nine arrested at Stony Brook University shortly after midnight — 22 students, two faculty members and five others for "violating various laws." 

The Columbia University chapter of the American Association of University Professors called for a vote of no confidence in President Minouche Shafik following the “horrific police attack on our students.”

In a statement this morning, members said they “unequivocally condemn” Shafik’s decision to call in the NYPD to clear out Hamilton Hall and encampment protests — a move they said was made without consulting the University Senate, “in violation of established procedures, by recourse to so-called emergency powers.”

She did so, in the face of efforts by the AAUP and faculty to “de-escalate the situation.” The statement noted that faculty, staff and students were locked out of campus prior to the police raid, and remain so. 

“The choice of Columbia’s administrators to ignore University statutes and customary practices honored over the past six decades, to have our students violently arrested, and to impose a militarized lockdown of our campus, has irrevocably undermined our trust in them,” the statement said.

In contrast, the chapter noted how Brown University had agreed to start a process with students to bring protester demands before their Board of Trustees, which resulted in the “peaceful disbanding of that encampment.”

The chapter called for the University Senate and representative faculty bodies of individual schools to pass a vote of no confidence in Shafik, the co-chairs of the Board of Trustees and the COO, demanded campus be immediately reopened and the NYPD withdrawn “at once.” 

“A vote of no confidence in the President and her administration is the only way to begin rebuilding our shattered community and re-establishing the University’s core values of free speech, the right to peaceful assembly, and shared governance.”

Biden addressed the protests that have roiled U.S. college campuses in recent weeks, saying: "Let me be clear: peaceful protest in America. Violent protest is not protected — peaceful protest is. It's against the law when violence occurs."

"There's the right to protest, but not the right to cause chaos," the president added.

He noted that destroying property, vandalism, breaking windows, shutting down campuses and forcing the cancellation of classes and graduation are not peaceful protests.

"Threatening people, intimidating people, instilling fear in people is not a peaceful protest. It's against the law," he said. "Dissent is essential to democracy, but dissent must never lead to disorder or to denying the rights of others so students can finish the semester and their college education," he continued.

"There should be no place on any campus, no place in America for antisemitism or threats of violence against Jewish students. There’s no place for hate speech or violence of any kind whether it’s antisemitism, Islamophobia or discrimination against Arab Americans or Palestinian Americans," Biden said. "It’s simply wrong. There’s no place for racism in America."

One day after clashes between protesters and police culminated in arrests, 25 tents were re-established at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.  

At least two police officers in regular uniform were seen surveying the area from a distance.  

This morning, the chancellor is meeting with a few protest leaders, but protesters say they’ll only be satisfied when they have confirmation the university will take action on their demands including divestment, cutting ties with Israeli institutions and calling for a cease-fire.

“I think our concerns with any agreement that we come to is that we want to make sure that the agreement results in our demands actually being met, not just our demands being subject to further discussion by the administration,” Dahlia Saba, a first-year graduate student in engineering and encampment participant, told NBC News. 

Yesterday, at least 34 people were arrested. While a majority were released, four were booked into Dane County Jail on charges spanning battery to a police officer and resisting arrest, the UW-Madison Police Department said. Four police injuries were reported in the confrontation with protesters.

Police began an operation to clear Portland State University's Millar Library, which has been occupied by pro-Palestinian protesters since Monday.

Earlier this morning, Portland State University issued an alert saying: "Millar Library is closed. NO ONE is authorized to be in the library. Anyone remaining is committing criminal trespass."

The Portland Police Bureau said it was closing several blocks around the library amid the operation, anticipated to last “several hours.”

The police effort is in collaboration with Portland State University, and comes after “numerous attempts to begin a dialogue with the participants,” to no avail. 

“Portland Police personnel swear an oath to protect constitutional first amendment rights and we are committed to ensuring safety for all Portlanders who exercise their lawful right to assemble and express themselves, but as a city we will not allow criminal behavior that disrupts our community,” Portland Police Chief Bob Day said, noting the bureau will “pursue all efforts at de-escalation.”

The University of Minnesota announced this morning that administrators have reached an initial agreement with pro-Palestinian protesters to end the campus encampment. 

It comes after multiple meetings with student organizations including the UMN Divest Coalition “representing multiple views regarding the conflict in Palestine.”

As part of the agreement, closed buildings will be reopened at noon and the student coalition has agreed to not organize “disruptions” at final exams and commencements. 

“While we do not condone tactics that are outside of our policies, we appreciate student leaders’ willingness to engage in dialogue. I value the challenging and healthy conversations we’ve had,” interim President Jeff Ettinger said in a statement.

The agreement, which was sent to the encampment organizers last night, outlined six points of progress, including an opportunity to address the board of regents regarding divestment May 10, a meeting on accessing publicly-available information on university expenditures, amnesty from criminal charges by police and an agreement to not pursue university disciplinary action against students or employees who participated in the encampment. 

The agreement noted that administrators would meet with Jewish student leaders today, “as we aim to appreciate and support our Jewish student body as well.”

Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey, announced this morning that exams and other academic activities scheduled before noon today on the College Avenue campus “have been postponed.”

The move was made “due to anticipated escalation of protest activities and out of an abundance of caution for the safety of our students.” 

As the New York City Police Department raided Columbia University’s Hamilton Hall on Tuesday night to arrest pro-Palestinian protesters camped inside, there was one outlet that many onlookers turned to for live updates: WKCR.

Listenership of WKCR was so high that night that its website crashed. The website was still experiencing intermittent outages as of yesterday afternoon.

The radio station is one of several student news outlets across the country — including The Columbia Daily Spectator, UCLA’s The Daily Bruin, USC’s The Daily Trojan and UT Austin’s The Daily Texan — that have become go-to sources for information about protests at college campuses. 

On Tuesday, reporters from mainstream media outlets had their access restricted by Columbia, so student journalists used their unique positions as members of the community to report on the event. Elsewhere across the U.S., journalists at national and local outlets have also said they’ve been turned away from some campuses if they didn’t have college IDs.   

Read the full story here.

Hundreds of people have been arrested in connection with UCLA's pro-Palestinian encampment, a CHP spokesman said this morning.

It's not immediately clear how many were students, faculty or not affiliated with the campus.

Those arrested are expected to be booked at the Los Angeles county sheriff’s downtown Los Angeles jail and other facilities around the county, according to a senior law enforcement source familiar with the matter.

At least one officer was injured but it’s not clear what the injury was. It’s also not immediately clear if any of the protesters were injured, the source said. The CHP spokesman said objects, including water bottles, were thrown at officers.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams said this morning that preliminary numbers indicate that more than 40% of those arrested at student protests at Columbia and CUNY were "not from the school and they were outsiders."

He made the comments on NPR's "Morning Edition" to host Michel Martin — the first time officials have shared a number following the mayor's claim yesterday that "outside agitators" were involved in the protests at Columbia.

"Just this morning what was given to me by my team was a preliminary review of the numbers, this is just the beginning process of the analyzing, and it appears as though over 40% of those who participated in Columbia and CUNY were not from the school," Adams said.

"I just had gut reaction based on my years in law enforcement, and I asked the intelligence division of the police department to look into it, do an analysis. Do we see familiar faces of people around the protests? And they came back substantiated on the Columbia grounds, and on other grounds, that there were those who were professionals who participated in training," he said.

By the time daylight dawned on Los Angeles, the UCLA encampment had ended.

What was once a mini village of tents, gazebos and signs protesting against Israel's war in Gaza was just a pile of rubble and debris — discarded tents and sleeping bags strewn across the school's Royce Quad, which had been protesters' home for more than a week.

A hard core of protesters continued to hold out against police and could be heard chanting slogans and repeated calls for the college to divest from its financial interests in Israel.

But protesters continued to be led away by police, their hands tied behind their backs.

Much of the UCLA encampment protest has been cleared of demonstrators, and the remaining protesters appear to be cornered in front of Powell Library, linked arm in arm, as of 5:15 a.m. (8:15 a.m. ET)

In front of the last standing protesters is a line of police officers in helmets with face shields and holding out batons bellowing “Move!” 

Police officers forcefully enter an encampment set up by pro-Palestinian demonstrators on the UCLA campus in Los Angeles this morning.

Almost two hours after California Highway Patrol moved into dismantle the UCLA protest encampment and arrest several people, some protesters are still defiantly standing firm, live footage from the scene shows.

They were linking arms and singing as of 5 a.m (8 a.m. ET) and some tents were still standing, although most have been taken down and thrown onto a growing pile of debris. More protesters were seen being led away with their hands tied, however.

NBC News footage shows the moments police cleared the protest encampment at UCLA this morning after an overnight standoff.

Protesters can be seen trying to stop officers from entering, as one shouts for them to get "back." A number of protesters can be seen detained on the nearby lawn, their hands in zip ties and some wearing pajamas.

"I am a student here," says one male being detained by police. "I am an English major. Please don't fail us. Don't fail us," he says as he is taken away by officers.

Police in riot gear have entered into UCLA’s campus after violence broke out between rival protest groups. Classes there are now canceled while arrests mount on dozens of other campuses across the country. NBC’s Liz Kreutz reports for TODAY.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog today issued issued an "urgent message of support" to Jewish communities around the world in light of what he said was "the dramatic resurgence in antisemitism and following the hostilities and intimidation against Jewish students on campuses across the US in particular."

"We see prominent academic institutions, halls of history, culture, and education contaminated by hatred and antisemitism fueled by arrogance and ignorance, and driven by moral failings and disinformation," Herzog said in a video message.

Protest groups, many of which include Jewish students, have rejected accusations of antisemitism, arguing they are rallying to oppose Israeli actions in Gaza and in support of Palestinian rights.

Herzog's message was the latest from Israeli leaders assailing campus protesters in the U.S. Pro-Palestinian demonstrations have in recent days clashed with pro-Israel counterprotesters, as well as with police.

A police officer takes aim at a pro-Palestinian protester on the UCLA campus early this morning, as numerous explosions were heard amid violent scuffles between law enforcement and students refusing to move.

Buses were ready for protesters to be taken away from the UCLA campus, as police moved in and detained several people this morning, according to footage from the scene.

Protesters could be seen on the floor with their hands in zip ties, while others were led away by California Highway Patrol officers as a large amount of flashbangs were set off in order to subdue the protest.

Police moved in after 3 a.m. this morning after a long standoff but some protesters are still defying orders to leave.

After an overnight standoff, police moved in to dismantle barricades at the UCLA encampment early this morning.

NBC News video shows armored officers pulling aside metal barriers and seizing makeshift shields from protesters who had formed human chains.

Multiple bangs can then be heard and smoke soon fills the air of the campus.

Police in riot gear have begun moving in and pulling down boards that pro-Palestinian protesters had used to fortify their encampment on the UCLA campus. Tents and gazebos were carried away by officers.

A series of loud bangs can be heard — NBC Los Angeles reporter Anastassia Olmos is on the scene and reported that flashbangs were being set off by police.

Several hundred officers arrived on campus in a series of buses through the early morning, hours after the encampment had been declared unlawful at 6 p.m. yesterday.

Officers had spent at least 30 minutes in a tense standoff with a crowd that had turned up to support the encampment, which was blocking a main stairway into the Royce Quad where the encampment has been for days. At 3 a.m., those blocking the stairs were seen walking away with their hands raised.

Several protesters were seen to be detained by police, one of them shouting “free Palestine.”

A pro-Palestinian protester wearing swim goggles takes shelter behind a wood pallet, as others use what appear to be plastic container lids to shield themselves during a tense standoff with police at the UCLA campus in Los Angeles early this morning.

Police have scuffled with protesters who were blocking the entrance to the area of the UCLA pro-Palestinian encampment.

A group of several hundred California Highway Patrol officers in riot gear arrived at the UCLA campus in several buses at around 5.30 a.m. (2.30 a.m. ET) and aerial footage from the Reuters news agency showed them clashing with protesters around 5.45 a.m. (3.45 a.m. ET).

Bottles and other items were thrown at police officers amid chants of “We’re not leaving! You don’t scare us!”

UCLA told all students that classes today and tomorrow will be remote learning only, because of the "EMERGENCY ON-CAMPUS."

The college said in a statement that all students should avoid the Dickson Court / Royce Quad area where the protest encampment is.

All employees have been told to work remotely.

Tense scenes continue at UCLA, where police were seen to clash with protesters just before 2 a.m. (5 a.m. ET).

Aerial video footage also showed police apprehend at least one person outside the encampment, near where hundreds of protesters have gathered to support the encampment, outside an area closed off to the public.

Police have formed a line to prevent any more protesters from entering the encampment area in Royce Quad — but aerial footage also appeared to show officers pulling back from the encampment area and walking away after the scuffles broke out.

An order for protesters to leave the area or face arrest was repeated over a loudspeaker.

At least 90 people were arrested in the early hours of this morning at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire, police said, for alleged offenses including criminal trespass and resisting arrest.

Those arrested include Dartmouth students and people with no affiliation to the college.

Hanover Police Department said in a statement at 1.30 a.m. that protesters had been warned that no tents would be allowed and that once they were erected there were multiple warnings from college staff and a dispersal order from police.

Some chose to leave, but many stayed, police said, and multiple law enforcement agencies were involved in the resulting operation.

Hundreds of protesters gathered outside the UCLA protest encampment to offer their support early today, after police cordoned off the quad that saw scenes of violence in the early hours yesterday.

The pro-Palestinian supporters gathered on the Janss Steps that lead to Royce Quad, where several hundred have defied police orders to leave their encampment.

They chanted "peaceful protest" and "shame on you, LAPD" as police officers moved into the encampment area.

A line of police is preventing them from going further into the campus.

UCLA was urged to do more to protect students, as protesters defied repeated warnings to leave the campus in the early hours of today.

City Controller Kenneth Mejia, who is currently on the scene at UCLA, said on X: "There is a large police presence from multiple law enforcement agencies after outside mobs attacked peaceful student protesters last night with no one protecting them.

"Students now face police. We urge ULCA & City leaders to protect students, not do more harm."

Protesters wearing traditional keffiyeh scarves around their faces stand beside graffiti daubed walls inside the encampment set up by pro-Palestinian students on the UCLA campus last night.Two protesters sleep beneath a wall covered with placards on the campus, protesting against Israel's ongoing military offensive in Gaza.

As pro-Palestinian student protesters took over a Columbia University building early Tuesday, one person in the crowd outside stood out — a gray-haired woman who delivered orders to young people helping to barricade a door.

“Tie it right to the lock,” she told two masked protesters holding zip ties, according to footage posted on social media. The protesters did as they were told, using the ties on a metal table pressed against the door of Hamilton Hall. 

“Let’s give them a little cover,” the older woman said to the crowd. “Cameras back. Cameras back.”

The woman was not a Columbia University student or faculty member. She in fact has no known affiliation to the school at all. 

She is a 63-year-old veteran activist named Lisa Fithian, or whom the New York Police Department described as a “professional agitator.”

Read the full story here.

A large crowd of people could still be seen at the UCLA campus in Los Angeles tonight, hours after news crews heard police orders to disperse, helicopter video showed.

There have no reports of arrests on the campus, where there also was some distance away a pro-Palestinian protest encampment.

Police were seen on campus. The Daily Bruin student newspaper reports some police were in riot gear.

Dylan Winward, a student journalist at UCLA, detailed the moment counterprotesters threw fireworks and tear gas at the pro-Palestinian encampment on campus. Winward said counterprotesters did “not appear to be student led.” 

Police stage on the UCLA campus near an encampment set up by pro-Palestinian demonstrators in Los Angeles late last night.