Tensions over the protests sweeping America’s college campuses rose on Wednesday as House Speaker Mike Johnson joined the fray with a visit to Columbia University in New York, where he faced cheers from pro -Palestinian demonstrators calling for the resignation of the university’s president. .
Flanked by several Republican members of Congress, Johnson denounced the demonstrations as “mafia rule” and condemned what he called a “virus of anti-Semitism” on colleges nationwide.
“They are no longer allowed to come to class for fear of their lives,” he said of Jewish students. “And it is reprehensible, as Columbia has allowed these lawless agitators and radicals to take power.”
Johnson’s speech drew boos from the crowd as he also called for the resignation of Minouche Shafik, the president of Columbia, whom he accused of failing to protect Jewish students and allowing protests there last week that led to the arrest of dozens of people led.
“If this is not brought under control quickly and if these threats and intimidation are not stopped, there is an opportune time for the National Guard,” he said.
His appearance came amid rising tensions over a wave of protests on campuses across the US. The demonstrations began last week after students in Columbia set up encampments calling on the university to get rid of weapons manufacturers with ties to Israel. The protests have led to mass suspensions and arrests of hundreds of students in New York and other cities.
In California, protests increased at UC Berkeley and the University of Southern California (USC). Further north at California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt, protesters barricaded themselves inside a university building using furniture, tents, chains and zip ties, leading to the campus closure.
Harvard University students set up an encampment in Harvard Yard on Wednesday morning to protest the suspension of the university’s Palestinian Solidarity Committee and demand that the university divest from Israel over the war in Gaza. And in Texas, an anti-war protest at the University of Texas at Austin resulted in at least 20 arrests, including that of a photojournalist, after state troopers stormed the campus.
As temperatures rose, Kathy Hochul, New York’s Democratic governor, called Johnson’s trip “divisive,” while Democratic Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez attacked authorities for the “reckless and dangerous act” of calling in police to non-violent demonstrations.
Hochul accused Johnson of “politicizing” the issue and “increasing divisions.” according to the New York Post. “There are many more responsibilities and crises that need to be addressed in Washington,” she said.
The protest movement is growing
Thousands of students have turned out this week to attend marches or set up camps at universities from Massachusetts to California, demanding that their schools cut financial ties with Israel and divest businesses, enabling the months-long conflict.
At UC Berkeley, a protest camp entered its third day. Rows of tents have been added to a cluster set up on the steps of the university’s Sproul Hall, in the middle of campus. Starting with just a dozen, over the past three days more and more students have joined the “Free Palestine Camp,” a sit-in demanding that their school cut financial ties with BlackRock and other asset managers they see as complicit in the financing the genocide in Gaza.
UC Berkeley has a $427 million investment in a BlackRock portfolio, and school officials have noted that a change in their investment strategy is not on the table. There is minimal police or security presence on site, but students say they are preparing for that to change. The group is determined to stay, even if the university tries to have them removed by force.
The protesters are also calling for an academic boycott, which would end cooperation with Israeli universities and the creation of a new Palestinian studies program.
Meanwhile, the campus of Cal Poly Humboldt, a public university on California’s northern coast, is closed all weekend and classes are being held remotely after pro-Palestinian protesters barricaded themselves in a building for a sit-in.
Dozens of students remain in the building and have blocked the entrances with furniture, while others occupy another nearby building, according to the university. Students there told the Sacramento Bee they felt compelled to take action.
“I think the solution is to get involved, because at least I feel like I’m doing my part. Even if it’s not enough, I’ll do my best to make something of it. I find peace in that,” says one student.
At UT Austin, hundreds of local and state police — including some on horseback and carrying batons — clashed with protesters, pushing them off the campus lawn and at one point sending some tumbling into the street. At least 20 protesters were taken into custody at the request of university officials and state Gov. Greg Abbott, according to the state Department of Public Safety.
A photographer covering the demonstration for Fox 7 Austin was arrested after being caught in a push-and-pull between officers and students, the station confirmed. A longtime Texas journalist was knocked down during the chaos and could be seen bleeding before police helped him with emergency medical services bandaging his head.
In Columbia, the flashpoint of national student demonstrations, Shafik said Wednesday that she had extended by 48 hours a deadline for talks with protest leaders about dismantling a tent camp on Columbia’s west lawn. More than 100 people were arrested at the university last week after it called in police, and more than 140 students, faculty and others were arrested Monday night during a separate protest on New York University’s campus in Manhattan.
Some Jewish students at Columbia, meanwhile, said they were physically blocked from attending classes by protesters, and subjected to racial hatred by demonstrators demanding a ceasefire in Gaza and that the university divest from companies linked to the Israel’s military operations.
Protest organizers blame outside actors for particularly inflammatory rhetoric against Jewish students.
Johnson’s visit to Columbia follows several other trips there this week by bipartisan groups of politicians. Three competing delegations were in attendance Monday, Axios reported, with New York’s entire Republican congressional delegation demanding Shafik’s resignation and Democrats criticizing her for failing to protect Jewish students and teachers.
Joe Biden does not plan to visit Columbia when he visits New York on Friday, White House and campaign officials told CNN. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement Wednesday that Biden believes freedom of speech, debate and non-discrimination are important on college campuses, adding that “students should feel safe on college campuses.”
The Associated Press contributed to the reporting
