Pro-Palestinian protesters demonstrate on the George Washington University campus in Washington, DC, on Thursday, May 2.
U.S.
Updated 2:43 PM EDT, Fri May 3, 2024
College campuses across the United States have erupted in recent days with pro-Palestinian protests.
Columbia University, the epicenter of demonstrations that began last month, asked the New York Police Department to clear protesters from encampments and an occupied building on Tuesday. About 300 protesters were arrested, according to the NYPD.
Other schools have also called the police on protesters, leading to the arrests of hundreds across multiple campuses. Since April 18, more than 2,000 people have been arrested on more than 40 campuses across at least 25 states, according to a CNN review of university and law enforcement statements.
Tensions on many campuses have risen since Hamas' October 7 attack, when militants killed about 1,200 people and took more than 200 hostages. Israel's retaliatory assault on Gaza has killedmore than 34,000 people, according to Gaza's health ministry. CNN cannot independently confirm the numbers due to the lack of international media access to Gaza.
As some Jewish students say they are concerned for their safety on campus, college administrators are facing increasing pressure from lawmakers to rein in protests.
Protesters deface a car after a man drove it toward a crowd at Portland State University in Portland, Oregon, on May 2. The driver stopped just short of a group of protesters and sprayed them with "some kind of pepper spray," police said.
Emma, right, sheds a tear as she and her friend Aryn listen to the names of Israeli hostages as they attend a pro-Israel rally at George Washington University on May 2.
Police face off with pro-Palestinian protesters at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) on May 2.
A protester is detained at UCLA on May 2.
Pro-Palestinian protesters stand their ground after police breached their encampment at UCLA on May 2.
Police take down a barricade as protesters gather at an encampment at UCLA on May 2.
Pro-Palestinian protesters gather outside Fordham University's Lincoln Center campus after a group created an encampment inside the building in New York on Wednesday, May 1.
A man is detained after a scuffle as pro-Palestinian protesters rally outside Fordham on May 1.
Pro-Palestinian demonstrators rebuild a barricade around an encampment at UCLA on May 1. Before police were deployed to campus, pro-Palestinian protesters and Israel supporters were clashing at the school, according to multiple reports.
Police officers stand guard after clashes erupted on the campus of UCLA.
Counter-protesters attack a pro-Palestinian encampment at UCLA.
Police use a vehicle named "the bear" to enter Hamilton Hall, which was occupied by protesters at Columbia University in New York on Tuesday, April 30. About 300 protesters were arrested, according to the NYPD.
Police detain a protester at Columbia on April 30.
Pro-Palestinian protesters climb a fence during demonstrations at The City College of New York on April 30.
An NYPD bus transports arrested demonstrators at Columbia on April 30.
Protesters confront police at The City College of New York on April 30.
NYPD officers march into Columbia on April 30.
Protesters occupy Columbia's Hamilton Hall early on April 30.
Protesters barricade themselves inside Hamilton Hall on April 30. Dozens of protesters were occupying Hamilton Hall, one of the campus buildings also occupied during 1968 student protests, according to a social media post from Columbia Students for Justice in Palestine.
A protester breaks the windows of the front door of Hamilton Hall in order to secure a chain around it and prevent authorities from entering early on April 30.
Protesters at Brown University celebrate April 30 after reaching a deal with the administration to end their encampment in Providence, Rhode Island. The university agreed to hold a vote on divestment from companies that support Israel, according to the protest group.
Columbia University students gather for a picket organized by the Student Workers Union (UAW Local 2710) on Monday, April 29.
Pro-Palestinian protesters confront a Texas state trooper at the University of Texas in Austin on April 29.
A protester at Columbia University wears the university's disciplinary notice on April 29.
Demonstrators march past Low Library while chanting "Free Palestine" on Columbia's campus on April 29.
Students from George Washington University stand on top of police barricades as they protest in Washington, DC, on April 29.
Pro-Palestinian students and activists participate in a demonstration at UCLA on Sunday, April 28.
Students and pro-Palestinian supporters occupy a plaza at New York University on April 26.
Georgia State Patrol officers detain a demonstrator on the campus of Emory University during a pro-Palestinian demonstration in Atlanta on April 25.
Jewish students wave Israeli flags as a counter-protest near a pro-Palestinian camp at UCLA on April 25.
Texas state troopers try to break up a pro-Palestinian protest at the University of Texas in Austin on April 24.
Students at the University of Texas at Austin watch a protest from a classroom window on April 24.
Students are arrested during the protest in Austin on April 24. There were dozens of arrests. University police had warned students in an email that they faced more arrests if they didn't disperse from the site.
Protesters link arms at Emerson College in Boston on April 24.
House Speaker Mike Johnson speaks to the media on the campus of Columbia University after meeting with Jewish students on April 24. He called on the school's president to resign during a tense news conference where the crowd repeatedly interrupted him and at times loudly booed him and other Republican lawmakers who were with him.
Demonstrators' tents are set up on Columbia's campus in New York on April 24. The school is also preparing for graduation ceremonies.
Demonstrators work on a banner April 24 at Swarthmore College in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania.
Protesters demonstrate at the University of Texas in Austin on April 24.
Demonstrators and Texas state troopers face one another in Austin on April 24.
Police stand near protesters at the University of Southern California on April 24.
New York police officers stand near protesters outside the main entrance of Columbia University on April 24.
Columbia students prepare to camp overnight on April 23.
A group of Jewish and non-Jewish students gather at the Columbia encampment to celebrate Seder, a ritual feast at the start of the Jewish holiday of Passover. Columbia student Cameron Jones told CNN: "I am Jewish and, to me, Passover symbolizes perseverance and resilience. I think this encampment represents those two ideals because we have seen the university take countless measures to try to suppress our student activism, and here is us persevering through that."
A makeshift memorial at Columbia, seen on April 23, pays tribute to Jewish hostages taken by Hamas in October.
Students protest near New York University on April 23.
Students at the University of California, Berkeley, set up an encampment at Sproul Hall on April 23.
Pro-Palestinian demonstrators sit at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, on April 23. University police arrested at least 45 protesters the day before and charged them with criminal trespassing after they refused orders to leave.
Police and protesters face off at New York University on April 22.
Police officers clear away tents from an encampment at New York University on April 22.
People watch from a window as New York University students set up a tent encampment on April 22.
Students and pro-Palestinian supporters rally at The New School in New York on April 22.
Students rally at an encampment at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge on April 22.
A pro-Palestinian protest is held at the steps of Columbia's Lowe Library on April 22.
Some Columbia professors rally in support of their protesting students on April 22.
Israeli flags are reflected in the sunglasses of a demonstrator in front of Columbia University on April 22.
Student activists set up camp at a New School cafeteria on April 21.
Pro-Palestinian protesters gather outside a Columbia building on April 20.
Police officers stand near barriers as pro-Palestinian protesters gather outside of Columbia on April 18.
