Secretary of State Marco Rubio said his office is reviewing the visa status of the masked anti-Israel protesters who were arrested after occupying Columbia University’s Butler Library
“We are reviewing the visa status of the trespassers and vandals who took over Columbia University’s library,” Rubio posted to X. “Pro-Hamas thugs are no longer welcome in our great nation.”
The announcement comes as the Trump administration continues to crack down on foreign visa holders participating in activities aligned with terrorist organizations, such as the antisemitic protests on college campuses.
The keffiyeh-wearing protesters, carrying large signs and chanting, invaded the library to disrupt students studying for finals. While inside, the protesters vandalized walls and furniture and graffitied “Columbia will burn for the martyrs” on a glass case.
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The school’s anti-Israel group, Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD), posted a video declaring that “over 100 protesters have just flooded Columbia University for Palestine.” The language seems to be a nod to Hamas’s name for its October 7 massacre of over 1,000 Israeli civilians, dubbed “Operation Al-Aqsa flood.”
The group declared that the protesters were “reclaiming” the library “for the people” and renaming it “Basel Al-Araj Popular University.” Basel Al-Araj was a Palestinian revolutionary writer who was killed in 2017 during a firefight with the Israeli Defense Forces after opening fire and running out of ammunition, according to the Jerusalem Post.
Watch this entitled brat vandalize the @Columbia library – without a single thought or care for the wage-earning custodians who will inevitably be called in to clean up this appalling damage. pic.twitter.com/wJgGTfbWpY
— Columbia Jewish Alumni Assoc. (@CU_JewishAlumni) May 7, 2025
When protesters tried to leave, they were denied by public safety officers who requested to see their IDs before leaving, causing the protest to intensify. For about five hours, the disruption continued until about 80 protesters were taken into custody by law enforcement officers and placed on police buses, the New York Post reported.
CUAD announced on Thursday that all of their “comrades” who were arrested are now “free.”
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“Requesting the presence of the NYPD is not the outcome we wanted, but it was absolutely necessary to secure the safety of our community,” acting Columbia president Claire Shipman said in a statement.
Shipman added that two public safety officers were injured by the mob and that some of the demonstrators were not affiliated with Columbia University.
In a statement, New York City Mayor Eric Adams encouraged the parents of the protesters to “call your children and make clear that breaking the law is wrong and they should exit the building immediately.” He added that those who do not attend Columbia should exit immediately or face arrest.
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“To our Jewish New Yorkers, especially the students at Columbia University who feel threatened or unsafe attending class because of these events: know that your mayor stands with you and will always work to keep you safe.”
House Speaker Mike Johnson thanked Rubio and President Donald Trump for cracking down on the protesters, adding that “America will no longer tolerate your antisemitic violence, destruction, harassment, and intimidation.”
