Student protesters take over Columbia University hall in anti-war demonstrations

Students with the Gaza Solidarity Encampment block the entrance of Hamilton Hall at Columbia University after taking over it (Marco Postigo Storel via AP)

Dozens of protesters took over a building at Columbia University in New York early on Tuesday, barricading the entrances and unfurling a Palestinian flag out of a window in the latest escalation of demonstrations against the Israel-Hamas war that have spread to college campuses nationwide.

Video footage showed protesters on Columbia’s Manhattan campus locking arms in front of Hamilton Hall early on Tuesday and carrying furniture and metal barricades to the building.