NYC riots: Anti-Israel agitators hurl bottles at NYPD, form human chain amid mass arrests
Anti-Israel protests at New York University's (NYU) 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 Deputy Commissioner of Operations Kaz Daughtry posted a video to X taken from a live news feed showing several airborne bottles being flung at police.
The NYPD inserted graphics into the video pointing out four bottles being thrown in the background shot as a reporter for ABC7 describes the chaotic scenes unfolding.
NYPD sources confirm that 133 demonstrators were arrested at the NYU protest last night with 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 said.
"When NYU asked the NYPD to clear Gould Plaza of individuals who were refusing to disperse and were ‘interfering with the safety and security of our community,’ our officers moved in without delay," Daughtry wrote on the Tuesday morning post accompanying the video.
"Unfortunately, as they were dispersing the crowd, some chose violence and pelted the police with bottles," Daughtry said. "The professionalism and composure our officers showed as they cleared the plaza — despite these dangerous acts of aggression they encountered — are to be commended."
It is unclear if the bottles were glass or plastic.
Mass arrests began around 8:30 p.m. after the 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.
NYU ANTI-ISRAEL PROTESTERS FORM HUMAN CHAIN AS POLICE MOVE IN FOR ARRESTS
"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."
"This development dramatically changed the situation," he continued. "We witnessed disorderly, disruptive, and antagonizing behavior that has interfered with the safety and security of our community, and that demonstrated how quickly a demonstration can get out of control or people can get hurt."
The protests have pitted students against one another, with pro-Palestinian students demanding that their schools condemn Israel’s assault on Gaza and divest from companies that sell weapons to Israel. Some Jewish students, meanwhile, say much of the criticism of Israel has veered into antisemitism and made them feel unsafe, and they point out that Hamas is still holding hostages taken during the group’s Oct. 7 invasion.
Earlier, anti-Israel protesters had formed a human chain as police moved in to break up the demonstration.
Roughly 50 anti-Israel protesters started a demonstration on the plaza in front of the business school Monday morning without notice or authorization from NYU, according to Beckman.
The university closed access to the plaza, placed barriers and emphasized that it would not allow additional protesters to join the demonstration because it was already "considerably disruptive of classes and other operations in schools around the plaza," Beckman said.
The university told protesters that they needed to leave the plaza by 4 p.m. for there to be no consequences from the school or police.
Many protesters still refused to leave, and the university was made aware of "intimidating chants and several antisemitic incidents."
Video shot by Fox News Digital shows the NYPD telling students: "You have been warned by New York University to leave the area."
In response to these reports and safety issues raised by the breach, the university requested assistance from the NYPD, who initially urged people on the plaza to leave peacefully before ultimately making several arrests.
Fox News Digital's Landon Mion and The Associated Press contributed to this update.