Police in riot gear have stormed the epicentre of America’s student uprising over the war in Gaza, arresting people who had hijacked a historic building at Columbia University by breaking through windows, destroying security cameras and using barricades made from furniture.
By Tuesday evening , countless police in riot gear had mobilised around the highly barricaded university, facing off with a growing swell of protesters who had come from across the city to show their support for those inside. Then, just before 9:30pm, riot police carrying shields entered Hamilton Hall using a ladder attached to an emergency service vehicle, while members of the public yelled “shame on you” as they watched on from the road below.The raid was the culmination of weeks of tension at Columbia, which began on April 17 when students set up the first encampment.