New York Police Department Chief of Patrol John Chell ripped pro-Palestine activists Wednesday on Fox Business, stating that their claims of the recent take over being peaceful at Columbia University were “pure delusion.”
Chell appeared on “The Bottom Line” to discuss the green light from Columbia officials to take back the school’s Hamilton Hall, which was seized by activists early Tuesday morning. Video footage from the protesters’ take over of the building shows activists in black masks breaking one of the building’s glass doors and there were reports of a custodian worker being allegedly held hostage. (RELATED: Columbia Protesters Demanded Deliveries Of ‘Humanitarian Aid.’ The NYPD Delivered Justice Instead)
“You see a lot of protests,” Duffy said. “You see a lot of peaceful protests, people who exercise their First Amendment rights —I’m a former prosecutor — what burns me is to see these protesters and their sympathizers talk about this being a peaceful protest. Where they’re breaking windows with hammers, chains [used], and barricading themselves in — criminal damage to property, breaking cameras. What are you seeing when you went in and [is there] any truth [that] it was a peaceful protest?”
“That’s pure delusion. If you look at the girl that was just on speaking — classic, no accountability, ‘I’m a spoiled child, I break the rules, and instead of being [held] accountable now I’m going to play the victim.’ Well not in this city,” Chell stated.
“So we went on campus last night to enforce the laws, the burglary of the hall, the school’s request for the trespassing,” Chell went on. “We went in there very heavy. We wanted to send a message to the world, to the city: that’s not happening here. Our cops did a great job, no one got hurt, no incidents and we sent a very strong message.”
Late Tuesday evening, NYPD officials were seen entering Hamilton Hall, arresting dozens of activists who had barricaded themselves inside the building. A statement released by a university spokesperson stated the decision was made “to restore safety and order to our community.”
“We regret that protesters have chosen to escalate the situation through their actions. After the University learned overnight that Hamilton Hall had been occupied, vandalized, and blockaded, we were left with no choice,” the statement read. “Columbia public safety personnel were forced out of the building, and a member of our facilities team was threatened. We will not risk the safety of our community or the potential for further escalation.”