CNN Reporters Shocked by NYPD’s ‘Extreme’ Response to Columbia University Protest: ‘This Was To Send a Message’

CNN reporter Miguel Marquez and CNN Senior Justice Correspondent Shimon Prokupecz both expressed shock over the New York Police Department’s severe response to the pro-Palestine protest at Columbia University on Tuesday evening, telling viewers they had never seen anything like it before.

“I’ve covered lots of this sort of stuff around the world, and I’ve never seen this many police moving into one area,” said Marquez on CNN after riot police stormed Columbia University’s Hamilton Hall, which had been occupied by protesters.

A few hours later, Prokupecz told CNN host Laura Coates, “I’ve covered many protests here in New York City. I have never seen a response like this, a mobilization like this.”

He explained:

The way the NYPD came in with such force, with such precision, and it’s clear in part this was to send a message, in part to protect themselves. Something very significant happened here. It seems that they probably got some information, they got very concerned, they said that this was now a safety concern and they had to take this extreme measure and essentially come on campus, use the tactics that they did to get inside Hamilton Hall. So significant. I mean, this is a university, right? This is Columbia University.

Prokupecz concluded, “This is something that’s going to be part of history, certainly for this city, for this university, and, Laura, for the NYPD. I mean, this is so significant what they did here and how they did it, and luckily right now, as far as we know, there have been no injuries.”

In a statement following the NYPD’s response, which resulted in nearly 100 arrests, Columbia University said it was “left with no choice” but to call in the police after Hamilton Hall became occupied and vandalized by protesters.

The university also accused the protesters of being “led by individuals who are not affiliated with the University.”

Watch above via CNN.