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Optimum cnn, Breaking NewsBreaking News tonight, and eerie calm at Columbia University tonight, the nypd it says university of property is clear just about now, three hours after hundreds of officers entered the campus at the universitys request, this the new video of Police ClearingHamilton Hall just taken over by propalestinian protesters just last night, the doors had been barricaded with chairs and tables and Vending Machines flash bangs. Were used to breach the building according to the police. And police say miraculously that nobody was injured during the Operation Cnn on the Scene Tonight Reporting dozens of people have been arrested and also loaded onto buses. And were learning tonight that the wife of an indicted terrorist it was on the campus last week. Its worth pointing to a post on x by sight may lrn, a former University Of Southern Florida professor who pleaded guilty to a charge of conspiring to provide services to the Palestinian Islamic jihad in 2006, he posted on x last week showing a photo of his wife on the campus of columbia the universitys saying, quote, my wife nala, and solidarity with the brave and very determined Columbia University students i want to bring in cnns Miguel Marquez, and also julia jones, miguel, youre out with more Law Enforcement officers in the streets . What are you seeing tonight yeah. Police and the university of going to be looking to see how many of those arrested tonights were actually students here when there were arrest two weeks ago in 108 were arrested a large percentage of those work were not students here at columbia i want to show you whats happening here. This is Amsterdam Avenue still a large number of police here, although the protesters, for the most part, have gone home, its gotten very, very quiet out here up The Street On Columbia or amsterdam you can see that bus up there that that bus is one more down 114 street, but these buses are waiting for anybody else that is arrested. There were a couple of people that were protesters outside the university that were arrested thats Hamilton Hall, just up the way here. This is a john j. Hall and hamilton has all the way up at 116th street. And Amsterdam Avenue it looks to me like police have finally opened up. Wed see now a lot of people just walking down Amsterdam Avenue that had been blocked off for most of the evening. Now, people are able to get down Amsterdam Avenue and walk past Hamilton Hall. Thats where police made entry of all of this abroad. Off of this road, off of this avenue, amsterdam under the second floor of Hamilton Hall, using flash bang grenades, the doors had been barred with tables and chairs and Soda Machines and anything they could and the police now say that it is completely done. It it is amazing how heavily they came in. It was very clear this was happening, this latest afternoon just from the number of barricades ever going up and how they were shutting down broadway and Amsterdam Avenues police enter there nobody on the campus now that shouldnt be there. So students who live in the dorms there can be on campus essential workers. Weve seen them coming and going. They are also on campus. But they want to keep a Police Presence now on columbia through commencement commencement to the 15th the university has asked nypd to stay on canvas through at least the 17th of may to make sure that what happened last time, which is that they clear the encampment and then immediately we constituted itself. Next the next day, and then we had the backlash across the country. They dont want to see that reconstitution of any sort of encampment or anything else on columbia through the rest of this semester are really important point now the question will be, what will the Police Presence look like in that current iteration . Thank you so much. My golf. All your reporting julia, want to bring in you here you were on campus when the nypd moved in to clear Hamilton Hall, what did you see yeah. So basically, we saw come in russia where were walking they, came through and the front of the library building, Butler Library and moved straight into Hamilton Hall, where we have seen that Healing Chain by protesters there. I think you have a sense now, this is the middle of campus it is clearly a night, but quiet. You can hear a pin drop. Sure. At this point nypd did definitely the job that they came that was to clear and secure campus, trying to walk us wilson hall we have access to see what that looks like. Right now. Im not sure if allowed him some students are slowly being allowed that like i said to you earlier, are allowed to go back to the School Of Journalism according by nypd back on to campus only way to get the high khan two cancels this point, but it is really calm feel like obviously i want happened here tonight. Theres been a lot of action in this site nypd officers on Campus Community happened actually, i think theyre starting to offense on the tag this is yours going started out of there for about two weeks ago. I dont know if youve seen it, but im noticing some are those bright yellow of ten on the west lawn quite symbolic you know, where we are right now absolutely. Thank you for bringing us this reporting. It does seem that they are Milling Around that and camp an area i see also stands. There have been set up in anticipation for that may 15th graduation. I want to bring in senior Political Correspondent for the wall street journal, molly ball, also former senior congressional gop advisor, reno shaw. Thank you both for being here. I mean, we are weve been watching this live as its been coming out. Of course, and we are seeing that weve got some people have been using all the rhetoric and discussions. This is an all over the airwaves from Speaker Johnson Visit recently to president farmers and trump talking about this and beyond, begin with you, molly, on this what are you making of the political reaction that is has already happened and what was likely to be tom well, look, this is these protests have deeply divided the democratic party. I think its fair to say that the party is on fire over this. Weve had some Progressive Democrats appearing with the protesters, show wanting to show solidarity with them other predominantly jewish democrats said decrying the protests, pointing to the antisemitism that we have seen all over these protests all over the country and i think the president s silence is becoming conspicuous. It is his policies that are extensively being protested here. And he said very little and again, this is at a time when hes being criticized by the opposition, when some are even comparing this to charlottesville, which was the reason why he supposedly first ran for president. Another protest in which a president at the time equivocated about which side he was on i think i think the politics of this are going to continue to reverberate even if it is the case that the protestors are cochlear permanently from campus, our own jeff zeleny has some reporting as well, apparently more than 250 former obama biden staffers are blasting the white house over gaza in a letter, i have the letters dated today and they are imploring the administration to speak up and say more and call for an immediate ceasefire. I was redoing a one portion of it. It says President Biden, you not uncommitted voters, or Third Party Candidates are risking a Trump Presidency and our democracy by Defending The War Crimes and agenda of a foreign far right government. You are ignoring the growing majority of democratic voters recognize israels war in gaza as a genocide and demanded immediate and permanent ceasefire there you are abandoning your duty to represent us. The majority and you are responsible for the consequences of your own actions and inactions. Thats just page thats paragraph two of an otherwise lengthy letter. So clearly from these 2d staffers are very upset is this, if you were to extrapolate to the larger audience though, is that in line we are months away from october 7. And of course, the horrific actions that happened over there on that day. And i think so much has been lost in this time and number one, we can fully expect for trump and Congressional Republican leaders to come out and message as soon if they havent already attempted to prompt you to play somebody respond to others because trump actually did it. Hes on fox news earlier tonight, perhaps repression about what youre getting ready to say, listen to what he had to say we have to stop the antisemitism. Thats just pervading our country right now and biden as reduced uptake biden is supposed to be the voice of our country good certainly not much of a voice is the voice that nobodys heard yeah. I mean, there it is. The painting of this as Bidens America a week, america not just on the global stage, but a weakness here on The Home Front where youre seeing the tensions really would tonights intense rate at columbia. And i must add them. Im breathing a sigh of relief like many our that this did not result in any loss of life because anytime theres something that a University Campus we can expect that theres a certain recklessness. People were willing to risk it all. But i think whats been lost really is at the core of what these students are protesting. Coasttocoast. This isnt just happening at ivs. Why are people organizing . Its not because theyre pro hamas or their antisemitic, and theyre of course those people but they are very few. I mean, theres bad actors and every movement, right . But these people are largely antiwar, an anti netanyahu what they feel is our tax thats fair dollars are going to do this hypocrisy to give this unfettered support to netanyahu, say take our weapons, take our money, do what you want, and netanyahu is brazen. He just knows hell get a slap on the wrist from biden on one hand, but on the other hand, were giving billions of dollars in humanitarian aid in gaza, which is only trickling in for various reasons as we know. So its all very complicated and looking at the politics of the moment, i am just saddened that this is where our country is right now in an election year, were so much is on the line for all of us are the freedoms, whether you are man, woman black, white, brown, whatever you identify as there are a lot of things that have complicated themselves this year because our leaders have failed us in many ways. So on the one hand, im happy to see the students putting democracy in action because its far better than apathy. But this painting with a broad brush that speaker johnson and Congressional Republicans did last week. Its sad in me, it was a missed opportunity. They could speak to the future of american instead, they were admonishing them, saying that they were all part of hatefilled speech. Well, its just simply not true. We bring you into mali because the white house would say no, president has condemned. He spoke about the word he used about taking over from Hamilton Hall was that it was wrong now obviously there is far stronger rhetoric to use and thats part of the reason that hes been criticized about whether he has gotten far enough. There has been reporting about a backandforth between himself and netanyahu where Secretary Blinken has described some tension and of course, coinjoin as well as press secretary. But what, what, what does it take in terms of the political Course Correction if youre biden, i mean, this is a president ial election year, true. But even if it were not, the fact that there are comparisons being made to the charlottesville at all. There are their voices and good people on both sides what would it take for the Biden Mutation to course correct . I dont think there is a safe place for the president politically on this issue, given that so much of his base is demanding something that he cant give them, right . It is not what it is not within the us power to impose a ceasefire on a war that we are not fighting. And our leverage over israel is limited right now Secretary Blinken is in the middle east trying to negotiate a ceasefire that the leaders of hamas has repeatedly rejected when, when Neither Party in the middle east really wants a ceasefire, its not really within the us power to impose and that i think has been a problem for these protesters from the beginning. Number one, that theyre trying to put pressure on an institution whose connection to these events overseas is very tenuous. These demands for divestment when they dont even know what the investments are in the first place when its not clear that that would have any effect on the conflict overseas and so obviously progressives liberals democrats are very deeply divided on this conflict. And i think thats part of the reason that we havent seen the president really definitively take aside and exert leadership. And i think that is part, and i think thankfully, i think these protesters have lost the country. I dont think that the American People a broadly on their sayyed and i think that they are continuing to marginalize themselves when we see scenes like these tonight, even if it is the case that most americans do support peaceful protest and do support the right to free speech, losing the country on the moment of the occupation of Hamilton Hall, perhaps is as Sandi Line In The Sand for some. But let me ask me, we all know recently on capitol hill and obviously, President Biden is the president of the united states. But congress was the one to the power of the purse to appropriate funding for not only the indopacific region and ukraine, but also israel why do you think its not congress, which is led by, i know its not even a razor thin majority at this point. Its like a majority were of the republicans. Why is congress not getting the brunt of the wrath in terms of the policies if theyre also giving funding. But we did see a few dozen democrats, mostly on the far left left vote against the funding for israel when they were broken up piece valle and as well as some republicans on the far right and yet it was a robust, broad, bipartisan vote. And i think that reflects the fact that in polls, the vast majority of americans support israel in this conflict. Now, support for israels conduct in the war is a different story. Support for foreign aid is a different story. It tore for netanyahu will have a different story, right and so i think it is possible to see a lot of subtleties in Public Opinion on this issue, but it is still the case that israel has broad bipartisan support in congress well, it quick run as were watching the live footage from outside of Hamilton Hall, a very different place, two doors now open no longer barricade the property has been cleared and we know that dozens have been arrested. All that we do not know the exact numbers and of course, unlike the scenes we Saw Yesterday of a loan, state pumpkins, the official who is being pushed back as he tried to move back the crowd of people who is coming inside, you see a Police Presence right now. Liquid green when you look at this, this, this now under control is this also true . This will reflect well on biden its hard to tell what this is going to do for biden really in the moment its so easy to pin this all on one person instead of on congress writ large, which i think should be included. I think its an important thing to draw these distinctions that you just mentioned. But in essence i think theres just so much tension and frustration with the status quo being what its been this unfettered support we give for israel, and not everybody subscribes to it the way nikki haley paints it out to be that we there are only ally in the region and we have no choice but to give them that support. These students are engaging and have been engaging in what i think is an important Critical Thinking exercise. But its gone too far. Iv