Fanatics 'fuel US protest chaos' as the mayor of New York blames pro-Palestine student clashes on 'global radicalisation'
- Several US universities have seen large demonstrations mounted in recent days
New York's mayor last night blamed a 'global movement to radicalise young people' after pro-Palestine campus protests across the US once again erupted into violence.
Eric Adams claimed students had been persuaded to storm college buildings and barricade themselves in by 'professionals at radicalising our children'.
A top NYPD counter-terrorism official said activists dressed like 'Black Bloc' agitators – a far-Left extremist group – had trained students and armed them with 'makeshift weapons'.
Rebecca Weiner warned of the 'mainstreaming of rhetoric and tactics associated with terrorism' at universities, which have faced a wave of demonstrations.
Tensions have risen for weeks on campuses as pro-Palestine protesters have demanded colleges divest investments from Israel after the war, which began on October 7 last year.
At several colleges students set up tent camps and university leaders tried to negotiate a resolution amid fury from Jewish students who felt under threat from anti-Semitic chanting.
New York cops detain protesters from a pro-Palestine encampment and Hamilton Hall, April 30
Police arrest protesters during pro-Palestinian demonstrations at The City College Of New York (CUNY) on April 30, 2024
On Tuesday night riot police were called in at Manhattan's City College and Columbia University. Dozens of people had forced their way into Hamilton Hall, an academic building, blocked the doors and flew banners out the window which read 'intifada' (uprising).
The NYPD said that 282 people were arrested by police who deployed a ladder on top of a riot van to access the second-floor window as they were pelted with bottles and rubbish bins.
Columbia University warned that any students who occupied the hall will be expelled.
In a press conference, Mr Adams said: 'Globally there is a movement to radicalise young people...
'Young people are being influenced by people who are professionals at radicalising our children.'
Ms Weiner, deputy commissioner of the NYPD intelligence & counterterrorism division, said that individuals who were known to law enforcement were involved in the protest.
She added: 'These students don't come in the door knowing how to barricade themselves behind barriers they've created. These are all skills that are taught and learned.
'You see people wearing headbands associated with foreign terrorist organisations.
'We do not want campuses where people are supposed to be learning being turned into places where people are committing vandalism, property damage and crimes.'
A heavy police presence surrounded both CUNY and CCNY campuses on Tuesday as local law enforcement cleared tent encampments set up by pro-Palestinian protesters
Pro-Palestinian demonstrators regroup and rebuild the barricade surrounding the encampment set up on the campus of the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), May 1
More than 1,600 protesters have been taken into custody on US campuses since April 18.
There were crackdowns on campuses including UCLA in Los Angeles, where police clashed with demonstrators.
At the University of Wisconsin, dozens of police cleared out a camp of protesters.
Thirty-two people were arrested at California State Polytechnic University after an occupation by students.
At Tulane University in New Orleans, 14 people were arrested, and at the University of Arizona, campus police sprayed chemicals as they broke up a demo.
