Pro-Hamas protesters arrested for taking over New York universities won't face criminal records: Report

Hundreds of pro-Hamas protesters who were arrested this past week for taking over New York universities with unruly rallies will not face criminal records, the New York Post reported.

According to the media outlet, none of the 228 demonstrators who participated in the protests at Columbia University and New York University received charges that will go on their records.

The rowdy protesters were detained by the New York Police Department and released a short time later. Of the 120 anti-Israel activists who were removed from the NYU campus on Monday, 116 received summonses for trespassing, and four received desk appearance tickets for other charges, including resisting arrest.

DATs require the charged individuals to appear in the New York City Criminal Court for arraignment.

Another 108 pro-Palestinian protesters, including Minnesota Democrat Rep. Ilhan Omar's daughter, Isra Hirsi, were arrested at Columbia University earlier this month — 100 received summonses for trespassing and eight received DATs.

Neither summonses nor DATs go on criminal records.

One law enforcement source told the Post that the lack of accountability will only push the pro-Hamas activists to continue their demonstrations.

"They'll keep getting arrested and go back out and keep doing the same thing because this is all a performative game for them," the source explained. "It's a game because the system doesn't hold them accountable for their nightly temper tantrums."

The campus takeovers prompted Columbia University to switch its Morningside Heights classes to "hybrid," which effectively canceled nearly all in-person courses with few exceptions. Many administrators and staff members were encouraged to work remotely to avoid the potentially dangerous demonstrations.

Most individuals arrested at Columbia University receive summonses, and some others received DATs for offenses including resisting arrest and assaulting a police officer, the Post reported.

The protesters have repeatedly refused to leave the university campuses, setting up tents and signs while demanding the schools divest from companies with ties to Israel.

Despite the protesters dodging jail time and criminal records, more than 1,400 academics signed a letter vowing to boycott Columbia University events over the brief detainments, according to the school's newspaper. The academics from around the globe also demanded the university "divest from Israel's US-backed genocide in Gaza and the West Bank."

"We are appalled by the Columbia administration's decision to call the NYPD's Strategic Response Group onto campus, in full riot gear, to arrest over one hundred peacefully protesting students," the letter stated.

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