A video is going viral on Reddit of the NYPD pushing back and arresting people at Columbia University, New York during an angry protest. The clip shows dozens of allegedly pro-Palestinian protestors refusing to move out of the way at Barnard’s campus, with some being arrested as a result.
The shocking protest reportedly takes place on Barnard’s campus at Columbia University, New York. According to an article from the Columbia Spectator, nine protestors were arrested for their part in the protests. Apparently the NYPD were responding to an “active bomb threat”, and as such required that the protestors dispersed. The NYPD confirmed this on X, explaining that anyone who didn’t leave the area as ordered was “subject to arrest.”
In the video, you can make out a number of protestors dragged from the protesting group. They’re then forced to the ground and zip-tied. As one Redditor commented, it feels like the NYPD could have handled the situation with more tact. “They’re being so aggressive for what?” the user questioned.
The police presence, however, didn’t cow the visibly angry and determined group. Instead, they yelled their displeasure and chanted: “NYPD, KKK, IOF, you’re all the same.” A woman with a megaphone led the damming chant as the NYPD struggled to disperse the crowd.
The protest isn’t the first incident we’ve seen at Columbia University recently. Following a protest in January, Barnard College expelled two students, resulting in further pro-Palestinian protesting. And the division was further evident when a protest interrupted a class, also only a few weeks ago.
Some on Reddit, however, have questioned the convenient timing of the alleged “bomb threat.” Of course it could have been genuine but, if you wanted to disperse a protest, it calling a bomb threat would be a good way of doing it. As one user suggested, “Fascists gonna call in bomb threats anytime they want the police to disperse protesters.” Others questioned how this incident can be squared by the freedom of speech and freedom to assemble enshrined in the Constitution. “So much for “Land of the free” and the 1st Amendment,” one Redditor lamented.
