Wife Of US Convicted Terrorist Was Seen At Columbia Encampment Before NYPD Raid

The wife of a former US college professor convicted of terrorism-related charges was seen at Columbia University’s encampment before the dramatic raid, the New York Post reported on Wednesday.

This report came as New York Mayor Eric Adams attributed the campus chaos to “external agitators.” Adams said that the New York Police Department (NYPD) had begun identifying non-Columbia individuals before being authorised to remove protesters who had occupied an academic building.

READ MORE:  NYPD Clears Columbia University Building, Arrests Over 100 Protesters; Cops To Remain On Campus

Pro-Palestinian demonstrators

Police in New York arrested dozens of pro-Palestinian demonstrators holed up in a building at Columbia University and removed a protest encampment on Tuesday night. While not naming anyone directly, Adams mentioned one individual whose husband was convicted of terrorism, likely referring to Sami al-Arian, who pleaded guilty in 2005 to supporting the Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

Al-Arian had previously boasted on social media that his wife, Nahla, participated in anti-Israel protests at the Ivy League campus. Despite Adams’ comments, it remained unclear whether Nahla al-Arian was among those arrested on Tuesday or if she had joined the encampment earlier. When pressed about the terror connections, Adams deferred to the Intelligence Division, saying that information could likely be found on social media platforms and emphasising the division’s role in determining what information should be disclosed.

The Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel by Hamas militants from the Gaza Strip and the ensuing Israeli offensive on the Palestinian enclave has unleashed the biggest outpouring of U.S. student activism since the anti-racism protests of 2020. As student rallies have spread to dozens of schools across the U.S. in recent days expressing opposition to Israel’s war in Gaza, police have been called in to quell or clear protests.

Police deployed in force on the University of California in Los Angeles campus on Wednesday morning after Israel supporters attacked a camp set up by pro-Palestinian protesters. Witness footage from the scene, verified by Reuters, showed people wielding sticks or poles to attack wooden boards being used as makeshift barricades to protect the pro-Palestinian protesters.

(With agency inputs)