Over 50 demonstrators protested on 117th Street and Broadway in an “emergency action” Wednesday evening to show solidarity with a group of protesters who tethered themselves to the Earl Hall gates in support of Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil, SIPA ’24, who was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement on March 8.

Columbia Palestine Solidarity Coalition and Columbia’s chapter of Jewish Voice for Peace announced the demonstration in a joint Instagram post at 5:40 p.m.

The protest came after a group of Jewish student protesters chained themselves to the gate near St. Paul’s Chapel at around 12:20 p.m. After Public Safety officers cut off the chains, the protesters moved to the gates by Earl Hall, where another group of protesters tethered themselves to the gates with bike locks.

“Jewish students have chained themselves to the gates of Columbia’s entrance to demand an end to Columbia’s collaboration with ICE, freedom for Mahmoud Khalil, and divestment,” the post reads. “As Trump continues to mount his repression campaign against students across the country, and as the U.S funded Israeli genocide in Gaza continues to escalate, the time to organize is now!”

An earlier post by JVP on Wednesday cited a report by the Forward in which Ross Glick, the leader of Betar, an organization that describes itself as a “bold Zionist movement,” said he went to Washington, D.C. to meet with officials about Khalil.

“He said that some members of Columbia’s board had also reported Khalil to officials,” the Forward article reads.

Khalil is a lawful permanent resident and is currently being held in a detention facility in Louisiana where he awaits his trial in New Jersey.

“We demand to know the names of the Columbia trustees who facilitated the abduction of our beloved friend by collaborating with the Trump administration,” the post read. “We will not leave until our demand is met.”

Protesters chanted “free Mahmoud, free them all. Break the chains and let them go.”

“Fascism thrives on fear,” one protester read, while others repeated. “The point of all of this is to make us afraid, to keep us silent, but so long as we are silent, the U.S. government can continue to bankroll the genocide without consequences. Columbia can continue to ignore the overwhelming call for divestment.”

A protester held a flag that read “SDS,” referring to the Students for a Democratic Society, one of the organizations that led protests at Columbia against the Vietnam War and a planned gym in Morningside Park in 1968.

“It is no coincidence that the same federal government that sends money and weapons to Israel is now attempting to shut down dissent at Columbia,” one protester read.

Protesters put up tarps as it began to rain. At around 7:20 p.m., Public Safety officers took the tarps down, as protesters chanted “shame.”

“Claire Shipman, you’re a clown,” protesters chanted. “We demand that you step down.”

Claire Shipman, CC ’86, SIPA ’94, was appointed acting University president after former interim University President Katrina Armstrong stepped down on Friday.

At around 8:45 p.m., New York Police Department officers escorted protesters off the road.

About 15 minutes later, a protester repeated a demand “that the University tell us the name of the trustee that handed over students’ private information to ICE.”

In a statement to Spectator at 5:07 p.m., a University spokesperson wrote, “No member of Columbia leadership has ever requested the presence of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents on or near campus to target students.”

As of 10:30 p.m., the protest was ongoing. NYPD officers added additional barricades around the protesters.

“They have declared as of 10:30 p.m., Jewish students are not allowed to sit peacefully at Columbia University,” one protester read. “Personally, I feel a little bit of antisemitism, does anybody else?”

At approximately 11:15 p.m., Public Safety officers cut off the bike locks that protesters had used to tether themselves to the Earl Hall gate and forcibly dragged them across the ground. The officers then opened the gate, forcing protesters off campus to join the outside crowd.

The remaining demonstrators dispersed by 12 a.m.