Columbia Protest Leads to 81 Arrests, Library Seizure

On May 7, Jason Kao, a former Bloomberg News and New York Times reporter and Columbia University alumnus, was arrested and charged with criminal trespass during an anti-Israel protest that overtook Columbia’s Butler Library. The protest, organized by Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD) and other groups, resulted in 81 arrests, injuries to two security guards, property damage, and the symbolic renaming of the library after Basel al-Araj, a Palestinian killed in a clash with Israeli forces. Kao was still employed by Bloomberg at the time of the protest but is no longer with the company following the incident. Protesters demanded divestment from Israel-linked entities, amnesty for disciplined participants, and issued statements supporting the eradication of Western civilization and solidarity with global liberation movements. Over 65 students received interim suspensions, and others were barred from campus. The incident drew significant attention to campus activism and university disciplinary responses.