Columbia University asks the New York Police Department to help clear pro-Palestinian militants after dozens of protesters occupied parts of the main campus library on Wednesday.

The university's acting president Claire Shipman said in a statement that protesters refused to leave the building, although warned that failure to comply would result in disciplinary action and could be arrested for trespassing.

“Due to the number of individuals involved in the internal and external interruptions of the building, the safety hazards that a large number of people trying to force themselves into the Butler Library, and the important presence of individuals we believe are not affiliated with the university, Columbia has taken the necessary steps to ask the presence of the New York Police Department to assist the safety of the building and our community,” the statement is in our community. ”

"Sadly, during this interruption, two of our Colombian public safety officials were injured in the crowd when people tried to force themselves into the building and into Room 301. These actions were outrageous."

New York Mayor Eric Adams said in an interview with NBC’s local branch Wednesday night that the police department was “going to campus.”

"We are engaged to the college. They have sought our help, and the NYPD is on the way," Adams said. The protests are "unacceptable."

At 6 p.m. ET, students received an alert saying the library was closed and the area had to be "cleared".

Democratic New York Governor Kathy Hochul said she had briefed the situation and was “thanks to public safety officials for keeping students safe.”

"Everyone has the right to protest peacefully. But violence, destruction or destruction of property is totally unacceptable," she said in a statement.

Images shared by the Campus Protest Movement on Social Media Columbia University Apartheid (CUAD) show masked protesters, many wearing Keffiyeh, a long-standing symbol of Palestinian liberation that is filled with rooms in Butler's library.

Some stand with the horns, while others show a sign reading the “Gaza strike” and distribute pamphlets calling for universities, “depriving” activists from activists and businesses that are profiting from Israel’s invasion of Gaza. They also hosted the “Free Mahmoud Khalil” flag and portrayed the image of recent Colombian graduates and Palestinian activists who have been in custody since their arrest in March.

In a statement released on X, protesters confirmed that they refused to show their ID, and some were injured in clashes with public safety officials.

"We will not be useless intellectuals," protesters said in a statement. "Palestine is our compass, and we are strong in the face of violent oppression."

The impasse was a fragile moment at the university as it faced a crackdown on the Trump administration’s response to student protests last spring. The government accused the university of failing to protect Jewish students from anti-Semitism on campus and cancelled $400 million in federal research funding from the school.

On Tuesday, the university announced layoffs. University officials said they are working with the Trump administration in hopes of recovering funds.

Last spring, protesters set up a camp and occupied Hamilton Hall in a campus building, which led to dozens of arrests and inspired similar demonstrations at universities across the country.

Since then, the university has undergone a series of leadership changes. In March, Colombia's interim president agreed to nearly all the Trump administration's comprehensive demands, a decision that angered teachers and critics, who said the university sacrificed its independence and academic freedom.