(RepublicanPress.org) – College groups started staging pro-Palestinian/anti-Israeli protests from coast to coast in response to the deadly war between Israel and Hamas. The gatherings have been peaceful for the most part. However, recent reports indicated that the situation took a turn for the worse when demonstrators at New York University’s (NYU’s) main campus in Greenwich Village clashed with law enforcement officers.
On Tuesday, April 23, New York Police Department (NYPD) officers arrested 133 demonstrators at the NYU protest the previous evening. Kaz Daughtry, the NYPD’s deputy commissioner for operations, posted a statement regarding the clash on his X/Twitter account.
When NYU asked the NYPD to clear Gould Plaza of individuals who were refusing to disperse and were “interfering with the safety and security of our community.,” our officers moved in without delay.
Unfortunately, as they were dispersing the crowd, some chose violence and pelted… pic.twitter.com/q4TNJqKETn
— NYPD Deputy Commissioner, Operations Kaz Daughtry (@NYPDDaughtry) April 23, 2024
Daughtry said NYPD officers “moved in without delay” to clear the protesting students who had refused to disperse at the request of school officials. He also confirmed that some of the demonstrators “chose violence and pelted the police with bottles.”
The commissioner attached a video from a local ABC affiliate showing protesters clashing with NYPD officers. The clip included red arrows pointing out four bottles sailing through the air as a reporter described the chaotic situation for viewers.
Earlier today, the NYPD received the attached letter from NYU — detailing a request to clear Gould Plaza of individuals who were refusing to comply with repeated requests to disperse. They were described as “interfering with the safety and security of our community.” Our… pic.twitter.com/oA758efW74
— NYPD Deputy Commissioner, Operations Kaz Daughtry (@NYPDDaughtry) April 23, 2024
Daughtry posted an additional statement explaining that the NYPD dispatched officers to clear Gould Plaza at the written request of an unnamed school official. The letter explained that NYU safety officers had engaged with the protesters occupying the plaza earlier in the day to no avail.
Following those negotiations, the students “breached” the barriers cordoning off the area.” The letter explained that NYU personnel observed the protesters engaging in “disorderly, disruptive, and antagonizing behavior” that threatened the “safety and security” of other students and staff members.
The letter advised that school officials considered the protesters “to be protesters” and asked the NYPD to send officers to “clear the area.” The correspondence also requested that the police take the necessary action to accomplish that goal, “including arrest.”
NYU spokesperson John Beckman issued a press release discussing the arrests. He explained that several protesters, “many of whom we believe were not affiliated with NYU,” infiltrated the demonstration. He also advised that school officials had received reports detailing “several antisemitic incidents.”
Beckman concluded his remarks by stating that NYU would continue to support “individuals’ right to freedom of expression” while maintaining students’ safety.
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