Marco Rubio to review visa status of ‘trespassers and vandals’ who occupied Columbia library

Rubio didn’t mince words after some 100 student agitators, their faces wrapped in keffiyehs, stormed the school’s Butler Library while students were studying for finals.

Public Safety officers were able to clear and arrest many of the protesters, but Acting University President Claire Shipman called in the NYPD to finish the job.

At least 75 people were arrested, beginning at 7:25 pm. The protest had begun around 3 pm. Student agitators were led out of the library about 20 at a time, the Columbia Spectator reports.

Militant student activist group Columbia University Apartheid Divest shared video of protesters linking arms and shouting "we have nothing to lose but our chains" as officers arrested students and led them out. It is unclear what chains they were referring to.

"At the direct request of Columbia University, the NYPD is responding to an ongoing situation on campus where individuals have occupied a library and are trespassing," the NYPD said in a statement.

Echoing the growing national frustration with the radicalization of elite college campuses, the State Department also issued a stern warning to foreign nationals studying in the US: break the law or support terrorism, and your visa will be revoked.

“Foreign university students in America have been put on notice: if you break the law or support terrorism in our country, we will revoke your visa. This administration will not tolerate noncitizens causing mayhem on our college campuses,” the statement declared.

ICE was closely monitoring the situation. According to Fox News, agents planned to fingerprint those arrested to determine their immigration status. “Time to make a point,” one ICE source reportedly told the outlet.

Students not involved in the protest told Fox News they were forced to evacuate, missing crucial study time due to the mob's radicalism. Many of the antisemitic activists were reportedly backing Mahmoud Khalil, the accused ringleader of Columbia’s pro-Hamas activist cell, who was recently arrested after Homeland Security moved to revoke his green card and student visa.

Khalil is currently being held in a Louisiana ICE facility. His supporters have tried to transform Columbia’s historic library into a symbol of radical Palestinian resistance, renaming it the “Basel Al-Araj Popular University”—a tribute to a terrorist author who died in a gunfight with the IDF and called for violent resistance against Israel.

Inside the library, protesters climbed on desks, shouted anti-Israel slogans, and talked of creating another illegal encampment. Columbia security officials reportedly told the masked agitators that they would not be allowed to leave until they presented identification.

“Nobody comes in, nobody comes out,” one Columbia security officer told reporters at the campus gate. Protesters were repeatedly warned that their actions would result in arrest and disciplinary action, but they refused to comply.

Claire Shipman, Columbia’s acting president, said in a statement, “Two of our Columbia Public Safety Officers sustained injuries during a crowd surge,” calling the incident “outrageous.”

The university reaffirmed its new zero-tolerance policy for violent activism in a public statement: “These disruptions of our campus and academic activities will not be tolerated. Individuals found to be in violation of University Rules and policies will face disciplinary consequences.”

This week’s unrest mirrors last year’s debacle, where far-left protesters occupied Hamilton Hall, clashed violently with police, and triggered 109 arrests. The chaos and protests prompted President Donald Trump to cancel $400 million in federal funding to Columbia, citing the school’s “failure to protect Jewish students.”

Now, the university is facing the consequences. As of this week, Columbia is considering laying off 180 staff members in the wake of the Trump administration’s funding cut—an outcome critics say the university brought on itself by caving to extremist ideology instead of defending academic integrity and student safety.