NEW YORK — Officers took protesters into custody late Tuesday after Columbia University called in police to end the pro-Palestinian occupation on the New York campus.

The scene unfolded shortly after 9 p.m. as police, wearing helmets and carrying zip ties and riot shields, massed at the Ivy League university’s entrance. Officers breached Hamilton Hall, an administration building on campus, to clear out the structure.

The demonstrators had occupied Hamilton Hall more than 12 hours earlier, spreading their reach from an encampment elsewhere on the grounds that’s been there for nearly two weeks.

A statement released by a Columbia spokesperson late Tuesday said officers arrived on campus after the university requested help. The move came hours after NYPD brass said officers wouldn’t enter Columbia’s campus without the college administration’s request or an imminent emergency.

“After the University learned overnight that Hamilton Hall had been occupied, vandalized, and blockaded, we were left with no choice,” the school’s statement said, adding that school public safety personnel were forced out of the building and one facilities worker was “threatened.”

“The decision to reach out to the NYPD was in response to the actions of the protesters, not the cause they are championing. We have made it clear that the life of campus cannot be endlessly interrupted by protesters who violate the rules and the law.”

Columbia’s protests earlier this month kicked off demonstrations that now span from California to Massachusetts. As May commencement ceremonies near, administrators face added pressure to clear protesters.

More than 1,000 protesters have been arrested over the last two weeks on campuses in states including Texas, Utah, Virginia, North Carolina, New Mexico, Connecticut, Louisiana, California and New Jersey, some after confrontations with police in riot gear.

In a letter to senior NYPD officials, Columbia President Minouche Shafik said it was making the request that police remove protesters from the occupied building and a nearby tent encampment “with the utmost regret.” She also asked that officers remain on campus through May 17, which is after the end of the university’s commencement celebrations.

“Walk away from this situation now and continue your advocacy through other means,” New York City Mayor Eric Adams advised the Columbia protesters on Tuesday afternoon before the police arrived. “This must end now.”

The White House earlier Tuesday condemned the standoffs at Columbia and California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt, where protesters had occupied two buildings until officers with batons intervened overnight and arrested 25 people. Officials estimated the northern California campus’ total damage to be upwards of $1 million.

President Joe Biden believes students occupying an academic building is “absolutely the wrong approach,” and “not an example of peaceful protest,” said National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby.

Other colleges have sought to negotiate agreements with the demonstrators in the hopes of having peaceful commencement ceremonies. As cease-fire negotiations appeared to gain steam, it wasn’t clear whether those talks would inspire an easing of protests.

Northwestern University notched a rare win when officials said they reached a compromise with students and faculty who represent the majority of protesters on its campus near Chicago to allow peaceful demonstrations through the end of spring classes.

The nationwide campus protests began at Columbia in response to Israel’s offensive in Gaza after Hamas launched a deadly attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7. Militants killed about 1,200 people, most of them civilians, and took roughly 250 hostages. Vowing to stamp out Hamas, Israel has killed more than 34,000 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, according to the local health ministry.

Israel and its supporters have branded the university protests as antisemitic, while Israel’s critics say it uses those allegations to silence opposition. Although some protesters have been caught on camera making antisemitic remarks or violent threats, organizers of the protests, some of whom are Jewish, say it is a peaceful movement aimed at defending Palestinian rights and protesting the war.

On Columbia’s campus, protesters locked arms early Tuesday and carried furniture and metal barricades to Hamilton Hall, among several buildings that were occupied during a 1968 civil rights and anti-Vietnam War protest. Demonstrators called the building Hind’s Hall, honoring a young girl who was killed in Gaza under Israeli fire.

The takeover came hours after protesters had shrugged off an earlier ultimatum to abandon a tent encampment Monday or be suspended — restricted from all academic and recreational spaces, allowed only to enter their residences, and, for seniors, ineligible to graduate.

Mahmoud Khalil, a lead negotiator before talks with the administration broke down over the weekend, was among the suspended students. His suspension letter — which he shared with The Associated Press — said he had refused to leave the encampment after prior warnings, but Khalil said he had abided by the university’s demand to vacate the encampment on the campus lawn by the Monday afternoon deadline.

Columbia spokesperson Ben Chang said in a statement that anyone occupying Hamilton Hall risked being expelled from the university for escalating the protest “to an untenable situation — vandalizing property, breaking doors and windows, and blockading entrances.”

Occupying protesters have insisted they will remain in Hamilton Hall until the university agrees to three demands — divestment, financial transparency and amnesty.

Students had defiantly set up tents again after police cleared an encampment at the university on April 18 and arrested more than 100 people. The students had been protesting on the Manhattan campus since the previous day, opposing Israeli military action in Gaza and demanding the school divest from companies they claim are profiting from the conflict.

The Columbia University Chapter of the American Association of University Professors said faculty’s efforts to help defuse the situation have been repeatedly ignored by the university’s administration despite school statutes that require consultation. The group warned of potential conflict between police officers nearby and protesters on campus.

“We hold University leadership responsible for the disastrous lapses of judgment that have gotten us to this point,” the chapter said in a statement late Tuesday. “The University President, her senior staff, and the Board of Trustees will bear responsibility for any injuries that may occur during any police action on our campus.”

Ilana Lewkovitch, a self-described “leftist Zionist” student at Columbia, said it’s been hard to concentrate on school for weeks, amid calls for Zionists to die or leave campus. Her exams have been punctuated with chants of “say it loud, say it clear, we want Zionists out of here” in the background, she said.

Lewkovitch, who identifies as Jewish and studied at Columbia’s Tel Aviv campus, said she wished the current pro-Palestinian protests were more open to people like her who criticize Israel’s war policies but believe there should be an Israeli state.

Adams claimed Tuesday that the Columbia protests have been “co-opted by professional outside agitators.” The mayor didn’t provide specific evidence to back up that contention, which was disputed by protest organizers and participants.

NYPD officials made similar claims about “outside agitators” during the huge, grassroots demonstrations against racial injustice that erupted across the city after the death of George Floyd in 2020. In some instances, top police officials falsely labeled peaceful marches organized by well-known neighborhood activists as the work of violent extremists.
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Mattise reported from Nashville, Tennessee. Associated Press journalists around the country contributed to this report, including Colleen Long, Karen Matthews, Jim Vertuno, Hannah Schoenbaum, Sarah Brumfield, Stefanie Dazio, Christopher Weber, Carolyn Thompson, Dave Collins, Makiya Seminera, Philip Marcelo and Corey Williams.

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When construction of Interstate 94 ran through St. Paul, it upended more than 600 families and 300 businesses in the historically-Black Rondo community, many of whom never saw just compensation for their property loss.

Marvin Anderson, a retired state law librarian, remembers the haunting day in his childhood when he saw his father’s face crumple as he learned he would receive a fraction of the value for the 12 apartment homes he built with a group of fellow railroad chefs.

It was the first and last time he ever saw his father cry.

In addition to the loss of property came a change in street signs, which Anderson and other Rondo residents recalled as another visible piece of the neighborhood’s identity stripped away. Much of the former Rondo Avenue that remained after I-94 was completed was renamed Concordia Avenue in 1964.

Dignitaries hold soon-to-be-installed Rondo Avenue signs at a ceremony celebrating the renaming of Concordia and St. Anthony Aves. to Rondo Avenue at the Rondo Commemorative Plaza in St. Paul on Tuesday, April 30, 2024. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)

A new sign

On Tuesday, Anderson joined dozens of current and former Rondo residents — including St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter and four other officials who have sat on the St. Paul City Council — for a reconnection of sorts.

Carter, whose great-grandparents moved to Rondo a century ago, was lifted by a public works truck to the top of the street sign at the former intersection of Concordia Avenue and Fisk Street, which now bears a different name. With a flick of the wrist, the mayor unveiled a new street sign returning the name Rondo Avenue to the block.

The name change, made official this week, will apply to all of Concordia Avenue between Griggs Street and Mackubin Street, as well as a block of St. Anthony Avenue, north of Interstate 94, from Western Avenue to Rice Street. Areas east and west of the designated cross streets will keep the names Concordia and St. Anthony avenues.

Address changes

For residents and business owners, the renaming may come with some paperwork.

St. Paul Public Works will reimburse residential residents up to $100 and business owners up to $300 to update driver’s licenses, business licenses and other important documents, provided they get their receipts into the city by Nov. 1.

The city has already initiated address changes with the U.S. Postal Service, so that part is already taken care of. Visit StPaul.gov/RondoAvenue for more information.

The street sign unveiling was attended by City Council Member Anika Bowie and former council members Debbie Montgomery, Nick Khaliq and Russel Balenger, who initiated the street name change last year.

Carter, in remarks to the crowd, noted that the city has invested in an “Inheritance Fund,” aimed in part at helping former Rondo residents buy and maintain homes in the neighborhood through downpayment assistance and funds for property rehab.

Through a separate effort, dubbed Reconnect Rondo, Anderson and other neighborhood advocates have urged the state Legislature to build a land bridge over several blocks of I-94, creating a reconnective lid of sorts that could host new housing, parkland and commercial structures while stitching together streets long split by the deep trench of the interstate.

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CHICAGO >> Jhoan Duran frequently described his time spent rehabbing over the past month-plus as “boring.”

The Twins reliever was forced off the field for the first month of the season by an oblique strain that he suffered during spring training. But, finally, the Twins activated him from the injured list on Tuesday, which should provide a cure for his boredom.

Minnesota’s bullpen has been a strength during the first month of the season — it entered Tuesday’s game with a 2.54 earned-run average, which was third in the majors — and that was without one of the best relievers on the planet.

“Our bullpen has been doing a great job. Our pitchers have been doing a great job,” center fielder Byron Buxton said. “To add Duran back to that mix is a big piece of getting our team back together.”

The Twins built Duran up slowly over the course of the last month and a half. They had him throw a pair of innings on rehab with St. Paul before activating him. His fastball touched 103 miles per hour in his second outing, a positive sign after his velocity was slightly lower his first time out.

“When I see that velocity, I feel more good,” Duran said. “It’s like, ‘OK, you see it. Let’s go.’”

He also expressed confidence in where his mechanics were at, saying he was opening up early during spring training, leading to a dip into his velocity.

“Right now, it’s great,” he said. I’m in the best spot right now.”

And that’s great news for the Twins.

While Griffin Jax (2.25 ERA entering Tuesday) and Brock Stewart (0.00 ERA), were among those that stepped up in Duran’s absence, adding him back to the group — and shortstop Carlos Correa back to the roster a day earlier — will allow the Twins to put players back into roles they are more familiar with.

“I think this puts a lot of people back into some more comfortable spots, into some other spots where we can better utilize our roster,” manager Rocco Baldelli said. “Our guys have been doing really a heck of a job and a lot of the guys that have been playing over these last couple weeks, we’ve challenged them and they’re coming through and that’s the pitchers and the position players.”

Bullpen shuffle

To make room for Duran on the roster, the Twins designated Matt Bowman, who was out of minor league options, for assignment. In five games pitched with Minnesota this season, Bowman had given up two runs across 7⅔ innings pitched.

“We gave Matt a good opportunity. He took advantage of the opportunity,” Baldelli said. “He was ready for everything we asked him to do. I really hope we get to keep Matt in the organization.”

The Twins will likely need to make room for another reliever in a matter of days with right-hander Justin Topa (knee) currently on a rehab assignment. Topa gave up three runs (two earned) in the Saints’ game on Tuesday.

Briefly

The Twins will send Bailey Ober to the mound on Wednesday in the series finale in Chicago. After giving up eight runs in his season debut, Ober has given up just a combined four runs in his last four outings, posting a 1.48 ERA across those starts.

An informant, police tracking of vehicles and an undercover officer helped lead to five people who are now charged with copper wire theft from St. Paul streetlights with an estimated repair cost to the city of more than $200,000, according to recently filed criminal complaints.

In another case charged Friday, St. Paul police discovered 45 damaged streetlights with an estimated repair cost of $225,000.

St. Paul spent $1.2 million last year on repair and replacement due to wire theft and accompanying damage to streetlights and traffic signals, compared with $250,000 in 2019, according to the city. Electric car chargers, window air-conditioning systems and other infrastructure has also been targeted.

The Ramsey County attorney’s office made accusations against six St. Paul residents in charges filed Friday. The criminal complaints give the following information from prosecutors:

Police received information in January from an informant that Kyaw Klay, 40, organized a crew who went out and damaged streetlights, removing wire from them. An attorney for Kyaw Klay couldn’t be reached Tuesday.

Kyaw Klay and Paw Hkee La, 21, then sold the wire to recycling facilities, including Dem-Con Metal Recycling in Blaine, the informant said.

Dem-Con paid about $3 per pound for copper wiring that had been removed from its insulation and $2 per pound for such wiring that was stamped with “City of St. Paul Public Works” on its insulation.

Dem-Con Metal Recycling is part of the scrap alert network “and we take it very seriously,” said Erik Schuck, the company’s chief operating officer, on Tuesday. “In particular, we were working with the authorities … on this and we are glad to see that these individuals have been apprehended.”

Officers conducted surveillance and saw Kyaw Klay and two others went to Dem-Con on Feb. 5 and sold 127 pounds of copper for $387.

“Kyaw Klay was so familiar to employees at Dem-Con that they no longer asked him for his identification when he brought copper in to sell to them,” the complaint said. State law specifies that scrap metal dealers must make a record of every purchase of scrap metal, which includes getting a copy of the seller’s ID.

Schuck said he couldn’t comment on specific allegations in the complaint.

Kyaw Klay completed 31 transactions with Dem-Con between Nov. 10 and Jan. 15, receiving $12,169 in total.

Undercover officer, vehicle tracking

An undercover officer made arrangements for Kyaw Klay to sell “stolen” copper wire to Dem-Con on his behalf, with the officer telling the man he would get half the money from the sale. The officer was provided with copper wire from the department’s property room that had “City of St. Paul Public Works” stamped on its insulation.

Kyaw Klay and Paw Hkee La (Courtesy of the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office)

The officer went with Kyaw Klay and Paw La on Feb. 7 to Dem-Con. An employee accepted stripped copper wires that Kyaw Klay brought and the undercover officer’s wire marked with “City of St. Paul,” and Kyaw Klay wasn’t asked to show his ID.

The informant previously told police that Kyaw Klay collected the stolen wire in a Toyota Camry and police obtained a warrant to put a tracking device on the car. On Feb. 16 about 12:45 a.m., officers tracked the car to the area of Mississippi River Boulevard and Dayton Avenue.

Officers on surveillance saw several people cutting wire from streetlights on the Marshall Avenue-Lake Street Bridge and later from streetlights near Marshall Avenue and Mississippi River Boulevard. About 25 streetlights were found damaged, with wires cut and removed, in the area of the Marshall Avenue-Lake Street Bridge. The estimate to repair them is about $125,000.

Eh Tha Blay and Aye Mae (Courtesy of the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office)

Police stopped the Toyota Camry and identified Kyaw Klay as the driver and Paw La as the front seat passenger. Eh Tha Blay, 25, and Aye Mae, 42, were the backseat passengers.

Police obtained another tracker warrant for a different Toyota Camry. Officers saw that car parked near the Highland Aquatic Center at 12:20 a.m. Feb. 23 and found 17 damaged streetlights around the pool with the wire cut from them. It’s an estimated $85,000 to repair those lights.

Nay Thar (Courtesy of the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office)

Police pulled over the Camry, and identified the driver as Nay Thar, 36, and the passenger as Eh Tha Blay, 25.

There was cut copper wire at Eh Blay’s feet. Police arrested the pair and Eh Blay told investigators he makes money by following friends who pull copper wire from light poles. He said no one in the car stole wire that night and he had tools because he fixes vehicles.

The Ramsey County attorney’s office charged Eh Blay, Kyaw Klay, Paw La, Aye Mae and Nay Thar on Friday with aiding and abetting energy or telecom damage, first-degree criminal damage to property and possession of burglary of theft tools.

Warner Road lights

Also charged Friday with the same offenses was Gay Gay, 44. Officers conducting surveillance on Feb. 23 saw Gay Gay walking by the Mississippi River, carrying a large bag and stopping near inoperable streetlights, according to the complaint against him.

Gay Gay (Courtesy of the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office)

Police found him parked in Lower Landing Park on Warner Road at 2:25 a.m. There was a large amount of cut copper wire in the vehicle, the complaint said.

Investigators found more than 45 streetlights along Warner Road had fresh damage and copper wire stripped from them. It’s an estimated $225,000 to repair them.

Five of the six people, with the exception of Aye Mae, have been charged with similar offenses this year.

Two St. Paul legislators are sponsoring bills that would require anyone selling copper metal to have a state-issued license. Construction contractors, people who work in residential trades and other licensed workers would continue to be allowed to sell copper and wouldn’t need a separate license. The bills would still allow residents and businesses to recycle copper materials with scrap metal companies for free.

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