Almost 50% of those arrested at Columbia, City College not students

Those arrested at Columbia and CCNY faced charges ranging from burglary to assault on a police officer.

By David Isaac, JNS

Almost half of the anti-Israel protesters arrested at Columbia University and City College of New York weren’t students, city officials announced on May 2.

On April 30, the New York City Police Department arrested 282 individuals who participated in “violent protests and unlawful conduct,” on the two campuses. ”

Of those, 134 had no affiliation with either school, according to a statement by New York City Mayor Eric Adams and Police Commissioner Edward Caban.

Twenty-nine percent (32) of the 112 individuals arrested at Columbia were not students and 60% (102) of the 170 arrested at the City College were unaffiliated with that school.

Those arrested at Columbia and CCNY faced charges ranging from burglary to assault on a police officer, obstructing governmental administration, criminal mischief, resisting arrest, trespassing and disorderly conduct (including obstructing vehicular/pedestrian traffic/failure to disperse).

“The world is watching New York City, and our message to them has been clear: We will not be a city of lawlessness, and we will not allow our youth to be influenced by those who have no goal other than spreading hate and wreaking havoc on our city,” said Mayor Adams.

“There is nothing peaceful about barricading buildings, destroying property, dismantling security cameras, or calling for the destruction of an entire people, and we will not allow what should be peaceful gatherings to turn into violent spectacles,” he added.

“As the anti-Israel protests began to escalate, it became abundantly clear that individuals unaffiliated with these schools had entered these different campuses and, in some cases, were even training students in unlawful protest tactics, many which we witnessed escalating into violent conduct,” he said.

At Columbia, student demonstrators sought outside help, consulting with campus protest veterans, former Black Panthers and National Students for Justice in Palestine, which coordinates hundreds of Students for Justice in Palestine chapters across the country, The Wall Street Journal reported on May 3.

One of the leaders of the recent Columbia protests has been revealed as the 40-year-old son of millionaire ad executives, who lives in a four story Brooklyn townhouse, The Daily Mail reported on May 4.

“James Carlson, who also goes by Cody Carlson and Cody Tarlow, was arrested by the NYPD and charged with burglary and illegal entry after he stormed Columbia’s Hamilton Hall and re-named it ‘Hind’ Hall,” the British paper said.

Officials described him as a “a long-time figure in the anarchist world,” the paper said.

James is suspected of burning an Israeli flag on May 2 and taking part in the blocking of bridges and tunnels in the city.

He had been arrested for allegedly attacking a police officer at G8 riots in San Francisco in 2005.