Fury as shocking footage shows inside the trashed Columbia University hall that ... trends now
Columbia University protesters smashed windows, upended furniture and caused damage throughout Hamilton Hall during the occupation before police stormed the campus and arrested more than 100 protestors Tuesday night.
Around 40 protesters were arrested on the first floor of the building after police swooped just after 9pm ending the pro-Palestine encampment that stretched on for nearly two weeks and included students taking over the hall.
Pictures and video taken of the aftermath show the hall's trashed interior strewn with activists' belongings.
Columbia's President Minouche Shafik called in the NYPD in to 'restore order and safety' to the campus amid the escalating protests, which also included a massive encampment on the school's lawns.
The raid saw demonstrators arrested across the campus and at nearby City College New York, where similar protests unfolded.
Columbia University protesters smashed windows, upended furniture and caused damage throughout Hamilton Hall amid their brief occupation
Images and video showed extensive damage to Hamilton Hall after protesters were evicted on Tuesday night
NYPD riot cops released dramatic video showing the moment they stormed Columbia University's occupied Hamilton Hall
Images taken after the raid show the hall's trashed with activists' belongings
NYPD cops dressed in riot gear stormed through the window of a Columbia University building occupied by dozens of pro-Palestine protesters to begin clearing them out
Police stormed Hamilton Hall through an upstairs window after students used furniture to barricade the entrance.
Pictures show how chairs and desks have been turned upside down to become makeshift barriers. The cost of damage to the building is likely to total thousands of dollars.
The occupation followed weeks of unrest at Columbia, which began with the establishment of the encampment on April 17.
Protesters set up tents after Shafik was grilled before Congress about anti-Semitism on campus.
They repeatedly ignored calls to disband, with the demonstrations ramping up early Tuesday with the violent takeover of Hamilton Hall.
After two weeks of chaos, which saw classes moved online and facilities shuttered, Shafik finally called in the police who managed to clear out the campus in just two hours.
University administrators have now asked the police to maintain a presence until May 17, two days after graduation.
Damage to the historic Hamilton Hall is estimate to total thousands of dollars following its short-lived occupation
Video from the college showed hundreds of cops in riot gear and armed with zip-tie handcuffs and pepper spray surrounding the campus
The NYPD announced that it had cleared the building just before 11pm with no injuries.
Hours earlier, video showed cops sporting riot gear descending on the campus armed with zip-tie handcuffs and pepper spray.
Until Tuesday, Shafik had held off asking police to intervene following backlash to the decision to use law enforcement to disperse a previous encampment.
However, the decision to call the NYPD was taken after the increasingly violent tactics and concerns the protest had been infiltrated by 'outside agitators' with no ties to the university.
In a statement, the university said the decision to call in police was, 'made to restore safety and order to our community'.
'We regret that protesters have chosen to escalate the situation through their actions,' the statement read.
'After the University learned overnight that Hamilton Hall had been occupied, vandalized, and blockaded, we were left with no
