A group called the NYU Palestine Solidarity Coalition led New York University students to walk out of classes Tuesday following violent anti-Israel protests that unfolded there last night.
Students and others gathered in Washington Square Park in Manhattan “to reflect, debrief [and] strategize,” the group said.
Anti-Israel protests at New York University’s campus turned violent Monday night when demonstrators hurled bottles at police officers who were sent to the scene to disperse a large unruly crowd, officials said.
NYPD sources confirmed to Fox News on Tuesday that 133 demonstrators were arrested by police using zip ties and flex cuffs to remove the protesters from campus. They were taken on a bus to police headquarters, where they were charged with trespassing, the sources added.
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Police intervene and arrest more than 100 students at New York University who continue their demonstration on campus in solidarity with the students at Columbia University and to oppose Israel’s attacks on Gaza, in New York City, on Monday, April 22. (Fatih Aktas/Anadolu via Getty Images)
The NYU Palestine Solidarity Coalition said in an Instagram post that NYU students in their group set up a “Gaza Solidarity Encampment” on Monday.
The group is demanding to “end all war profiteering and investment in genocide,” a “complete academic boycott of Israel,” the removal of NYPD on campus and that NYU “must protect free speech on campus and provide full amnesty to all students and faculty penalized for their pro-Palestinian activism.”
They claimed the arrests last night were “violent” but that “the violence we faced is only a fraction of the violence that Palestinians face on the ground every day.”
NYU did not immediately respond Tuesday to a request for comment from Fox News Digital regarding the walkout.
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NYPD officers take down a tent encampment as anti-Israel agitators stage a demonstration outside of NYU’s Stern School of Business in Manhattan, New York on Monday, April 22, 2024. The protesters staged a tent encampment in front of the school as they demanded a permanent ceasefire between Israel and Gaza. (Julia Bonavita/Fox News Digital)
Mass arrests began around 8:30 p.m. Monday after a protest escalated to the plaza in front of the business school. The university released a statement explaining while it supports students’ rights to protest, safety remains its priority.
“The University was deeply disturbed when, early this afternoon, additional protesters, many of whom we believe were not affiliated with NYU, suddenly breached the barriers that had been put in place at the north side of the plaza and joined the others already on the plaza,” NYU spokesperson John Beckman said.
“This breach was in violation of directions from Campus Safety Officers and in violation of multiple university rules,” he added.
NYPD arrests student protesters on the campus of NYU. (Julia Bonavita/Fox News Digital)
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Earlier, anti-Israel protesters had formed a human chain as police moved in to break up the demonstration.
Fox News’ Chris Pandolfo and Michael Dorgan contributed to this report.