Masked Columbia protesters march on campus, defying Trump-ordered ban on face coverings
Dozens of masked protesters swarmed Columbia University's campus less than 72 hours after school officials enacted restrictions curbing face coverings to comply with a Trump administration order aimed at combatting antisemitism in higher ed.
The fresh round of demonstrations led a Jewish Columbia student to question whether the new rules went far enough.
'They're protesting the mask ban. They're defying what they perceive is a mask ban. There is no mask ban,' Eden Yadegar, 21, a senior Middle East studies major told The Post.
'It's frightening to see what has happened over the last 18 months. I'm concerned about the future of higher education. It's really disturbing what has been happening, the desecration of our community,' she said.
The protesters, organized by the Graduate Student Union and the Palestine Solidarity Coalition, put out a cattle call on social media Monday, proclaiming it 'Mask-Up Monday' — provocatively thumbing their noses at the university's newly announced restrictions and urging students, faculty and staff to skip work or class for the day.
'Columbia, in collaboration with the White House, is attempting to repress its students fighting for Palestinian liberation just as 'Israel' has broken the ceasefire and re-escalated its genocide of Palestine,' a flyer making the rounds online read in part.
The Trump administration called for a total ban on masks at campus protests as part of a sweeping list of university reforms in a March 3 letter penned by a joint task force composed of the Department of Education, the General Services Administration and Health and Human Services.
The Ivy League school was given a month to comply or risk losing around $400 million in federal funding.
On Friday, Columbia announced it would cooperate with the order, instituting numerous policy changes in direct accordance with the task force's demands. Among the changes, the university banned all face coverings on campus worn 'for the purpose of concealing one's identity in the commission of violations of university policies or state, municipal or federal laws.'
The university also said it would now require anyone on campus wearing a mask to promptly identify themselves when asked by a public safety officer, or be subject to 'discipline, being escorted off campus and detention for trespass where appropriate.'
Yadegar, a former member of Students Supporting Israel, said she's 'cautiously optimistic' that the reforms will improve conditions on campus — as long as the school actually enforces them.
'Every time I get my hopes up, we take three steps backward,' she said.
The Morningside Heights campus has become a hotbed of antisemitic sloganeering and demonstrations since Israel declared war on Hamas following the Oct. 7, 2023 terror attacks, including most infamously a violent takeover of Hamilton Hall last spring where rioters draped a giant banner calling for 'intifada.'
In a statement to The Post, the university reiterated its new policies regarding masks on campus — pledging 'any violations will be met with consequences' — while reaffirming its commitment to adhering to the terms of the budding agreement with the Trump administration.
'Columbia is fully committed to the steps we announced last week to continue to combat antisemitism and all forms of discrimination and harassment,' the statement read.
The Trump administration joint task force issued a statement ahead of Monday's protests saying it was 'encouraged' by the University's initial steps.
'Columbia is demonstrating appropriate cooperation with the Trump Administration's requirements, and we look forward to a lasting resolution,' said Secretary of Education Linda McMahon.
'I have been in communication with Columbia University Interim President Katrina Armstrong over the last few weeks and appreciate her leadership and commitment to advance truly meaningful reforms on campus.'
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Police officers periodically fired tear gas or pepper balls as a crowd sometimes moved too close to a protected building or someone threw a water bottle at the previous evening, local authorities appeared to have the area under firm control, although no one stopped people with spray paint from defacing public was no visible sign of federal troops. At a news conference Monday, Bonta announced details of the lawsuit against the administration, calling Trump's move "unnecessary, counterproductive and most importantly unlawful." Bonta said Trump's order abused the federal government's authority and "trampled over" Gov. Gavin Newsom's sovereignty. Trump said the guard would restore order amid mounting violent clashes between police and protesters angry at his aggressive pursuit of undocumented immigrants in the U.S. illegally. On Monday, U.S. Northern Command confirmed 700 Marines would also be sent into the city. The president pledged in a social media post to "liberate Los Angeles from the Migrant Invasion, and put an end to these Migrant riots. Order will be restored, the Illegals will be expelled, and Los Angeles will be set free." In a social media post, Newsom blamed Trump for the increase in unrest after three days of protests, saying "we're suing him." 'Donald Trump is creating fear and terror by failing to adhere to the U.S. Constitution and overstepping his authority. This is a manufactured crisis to allow him to take over a state militia, damaging the very foundation of our republic,' Newsom said in a statement. Police on Monday were urging businesses and residents to report any "vandalism, damage or looting" for documentation after some of the protests Sunday deteriorated into destructive clashes between officers and protesters. 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'State and local leaders stand together, coordinated and resolute to ensure the safety of the Los Angeles region.' Karen Bass, LA's mayor, backed Newsom: 'While Washington choreographed these chaotic events, the LAPD and local law enforcement continue to effectively respond.' The Pentagon is sending 700 active-duty Marines to Los Angeles in response to protests over immigration sweeps by the Trump administration, according to U.S. Northern Command spokesperson Col Kelly Frushour. Frushour said the troops belong to the 2nd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment and are based at Twentynine Palms, about 140 miles east of Los Angeles. The California-based Marines will join the 2,100 federalized National Guard troops "protecting federal personnel and federal property in the greater Los Angeles area," Frushour added. Marines heading to Los Angeles are from an infantry battalion whose typical mission is close combat with enemy forces. But for this mission, Frushour said, the activated Marines and Guardsmen "have been trained in de-escalation, crowd control, and standing rules for the use of force." The Marines will be moving out within hours, according to a U.S. official who was not authorized to speak publicly. The Marines had been on standby since Saturday, according to U.S. Northern Command, which is in charge of the operation that also includes California National Guardsmen. Like the Guard troops, the Marines will be used to protect federal property. The addition of active-duty troops is a significant escalation in the administration's ongoing efforts to round up those who have violated immigration laws. There are thousands of active-duty troops assisting at the southern border but none inside a major U.S. city. Read more here. - Tom Vanden Brook, Davis Winkie California Gov. Gavin Newsom filed a lawsuit on Monday against President Donald Trump over the president's move to deploy members of the California National Guard without Newsom's consent. The process is called federalizing the National Guard. The Office of the California Attorney General shared a copy of the lawsuit with USA TODAY late Monday afternoon local time. 'One of the cornerstones of our Nation and our democracy is that our people are governed by civil, not military, rule,' the lawsuit says. Trump 'used a protest that local authorities had under control to make another unprecedented power grab, this time at the cost of the sovereignty of the State of California.' Trump authorized 2,000 National Guardsmen on June 7 to deploy to Los Angeles and on June 9 Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth ordered another 2,000 to the city, according to the lawsuit. Officials at the Los Angeles Police Department announced that they had arrested 50 people over Saturday and Sunday in downtown areas that 'escalated into significant acts of violence, vandalism, and looting.' LAPD said 29 people were arrested Saturday evening for failing to follow orders to disperse. 21 people were arrested Sunday on charges from attempted murder with a Molotov cocktail to assault with a deadly weapon on a police officer, LAPD said. Authorities said officers used tear gas on the 'hostile crowd' as well as over 600 rounds of non-lethal bullets. Among those hit was an Australian journalist covering the protests. At least five officers received minor injuries, according to LAPD. Five police horses also 'were targeted and sustained minor injuries.' Police said protest groups used handheld radios 'to coordinate and evade law enforcement.' LAPD said its Professional Standards Bureau will investigate excessive use of force allegations. An Australian journalist was shot with a rubber bullet by an officer while covering protests in Los Angeles over the weekend, according to her media outlet. Lauren Tomasi, a U.S. national correspondent for Australia's 9News, was shot in the leg by a rubber bullet while reporting on the immigration raids and ensuing protests in Los Angeles on Sunday, June 8, the network reported. Video captured by 9News shows a nearby armed police officer aiming a weapon at Tomasi before firing, striking the back of her left leg. Tomasi is heard yelling out in pain as the camera pans away. Tomasi is sore but otherwise unharmed from the incident, 9News reported. - Greta Cross Multiple Waymo self-driving robotaxis were set on fire in Los Angeles during the protests. Other cars were also put to the torch but the Waymos have garnered special interest, partially because they're something new on the scene and partially because as electric vehicles, they raise different and specific concerns if their batteries burn. Electric vehicle fires can burn hotter and more intensely than gasoline-fueled cars, if their batteries catch fire. The fires also release different emissions than traditional gasoline-powered vehicle fires, including gases such as hydrogen fluoride, carbon monoxide, volatile organic compounds, and metal-based particulates. EV fires are also more difficult to put out than ones in gasoline-powered cars and require different firefighting techniques, which firefighters are trained on. - Elizabeth Weise The City of Glendale, about 9 miles northeast of downtown Los Angeles, announced it would be terminating its contract with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to hold federal immigration detainees at the local police facility, city officials said in a news release Sunday night. ICE's agreement with Glendale had been in place since 2007, according to the release. '(The) City recognizes that public perception of the ICE contract—no matter how limited or carefully managed, no matter the good—has become divisive,' the statement said. On Monday, the Department of Homeland Security responded to the announcement on X, saying 'Glendale's politicians stand with criminal illegal aliens, including gang members, rapists, and murderers over American citizens.' 'It is deeply disturbing that sanctuary politicians in Glendale, California, would terminate an agreement to hold ICE detainees and violent criminals — which the city has had with DHS for more than 15 years — just as violent rioters are looting and defacing Los Angeles and assaulting federal law enforcement,' DHS said. - Victoria Valenzuela Several stars have taken to social media to share information and resources, and to criticize the federal response to what they called peaceful demonstrations in Los Angeles. On June 8, Billie Eilish's brother and collaborator, Finneas, posted on his Instagram story about the protests, cursing at ICE and sharing that he attended a protest and was immediately met with force. "Tear gassed almost immediately at the very peaceful protest downtown ‒ they're inciting this," wrote the songwriter, an LA native. -Taijuan Moorman Bonta, the California attorney general, confirmed June 9 that the state plans to file a lawsuit against the Trump administration over its "unlawful" decision to deploy National Guard troops in Los Angeles against Newsom's wishes. Bonta said that by the time the first few hundred troops arrived in Los Angles "the protests had mostly dissipated and streets were mostly quiet and calm." After the troops were deployed, Bonta said the situation escalated and unrest grew, "causing highways to close and putting people in danger." The order violated the 10th Amendment and failed to meet the criteria required to invoke the law, according to the attorney general. Bonta said the move marks the first time a president has invoked this statute since President Richard Nixon ordered the National Guard to deliver mail during the 1970 Postal Service Strike. "They unlawfully invoked a law that's intended to prevent an invasion by a foreign nation or a rebellion or local and state law enforcement make it so that the laws of the United States cannot be executed," Bonta said. "Those are the only three triggers that would provide for the invocation of the National Guard, and none of them were present here." When asked about Trump's suggestion that Newsom should be arrested, Bonta defended the governor's actions and downplayed the possibility. "It is the president and the Trump administration that is consistently and frequently, blatantly and brazenly violating the law, not Governor Newsom," Bonta said. "So it's a seems to be more of bluster and threat." In San Francisco, three separate protests against immigration arrests were scheduled for Monday, June 9. The first took place at noon at the California State Building, a few blocks from City Hall. It was called by the Service Employees International Union, whose California president, David Huerta, was arrested Friday in the Los Angeles protests. Attendees were urged to wear their union colors. A second protest was scheduled to be held at San Francisco City Hall at 4 p.m. local time and was organized by multiple local progressive groups. Finally, at 6 p.m. a protest was scheduled to be held at the 24th street BART subway plaza in San Francisco's Mission District, which is the heart of the city's Hispanic community. The protests in San Francisco come as several Waymo self-driving taxis were attacked and burned in Los Angeles during protests on Saturday, June 7. The city in Northern California is home to the largest number of the self-driving cars, where they are a common sight on roadways. Waymo told USA TODAY while the company was still operating and serving riders in San Francisco, out of an abundance of caution it was limiting trips in certain areas where protesters may be gathering. - Elizabeth Weise While national attention focused on Los Angeles, it was business as usual for virtually everyone in the city. Outside the Home Depot in the Paramount neighborhood, a small group of day laborers in paint-stained pants sat on buckets waiting for work. Several said ICE had detained people across Alondra Boulevard on June 7, sparking unrest. They said that although they lacked papers to remain legally in the United States, they weren't worried about being deported if ICE agents returned. Mexican-born Jose Luis Valencia, 54, said if it's his time to go back to his home country, he'll go. 'We're not thieves,' he said. 'We're just looking for jobs.' Longtime LA resident Ira Long, 67, said the reporting of the unrest has been overblown. Long, a pastor at the Alondra Church of Christ in Compton, said he still remembers when the National Guard was called out in the wake of the 1992 Rodney King riots. 'That was a really, really terrible time. Right now I don't feel any of that tension or anxiety,' said Long, a retired special education teacher. 'But people are uneasy, and there's a real sense of loss because we have lost people who were a part of this community.' Speaking as church volunteers prepared to distribute food to community members about a half mile from where weekend protests erupted, Long said he wants the rest of the country to know Los Angeles is a good, safe city. 'This is a very loving community,' he said. 'It's never been totally out of control. It has its challenges, its issues. But there are also amazing and fantastic families who make this a great place to live. It's very peaceful. And right now it's pretty cool.' Dozens of protesters rallied outside the Justice Department's headquarters in Washington to criticize Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids in Los Angeles, where Trump deployed the National Guard. 'Enough of these mass ICE raids who are sweeping up innocent people,' Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., said June 9. 'Enough of the undermining of due process.' The Service Employees International Union organized the protest after the union's California president, David Huerta, was arrested in the Los Angeles protests. Bill Essayli, the U.S. attorney in Los Angeles, told KNBC, Huerta allegedly obstructed law enforcement vehicles from getting into a facility where they were conducting a search warrant, citing video of the arrest. 'They tried to move him and then he got into a physical altercation with one of our agents and he resisted and he had to be pepper sprayed and subdued,' Essayli said. Participants at the Justice Department protest held signs that said, 'Free David. End ICE Raids' and 'Justice for David Huerta Now.' The rally was one of more than a dozen scheduled in cities across the U.S. to demand Huerta's release and an end to workplace immigration raids, the Los Angeles Times reported. − Bart Jansen Amid the mounting legal clash between the federal government and the state of California, Trump suggested that his border czar Tom Homan should arrest Newsom. 'I would do it … I think it's great,' Trump said when asked if Homan should arrest the governor, who has challenged the administration's mobilization of National Guard troops to crack down on violent protests against immigration raids in Los Angeles. Arresting Newsom, who responded to Homan's threat by daring the feds to arrest him in a June 8 social media post, would represent a major escalation of the state's widening rift with the Trump administration. − Davis Winkie LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell called the outbreak of violence "disgusting" and said it had grown worse Saturday. He said he does not believe the same people who were genuinely protesting immigration policy were involved in the violence. Newsom warned that violent protesters would be arrested and prosecuted. He also kept up his social media attack on Trump, saying California "didn't have a problem until Trump got involved" and that unrest is "exactly" what Trump wanted. "Let's get this straight: 1) Local law enforcement didn't need help. 2) Trump sent troops anyway — to manufacture chaos and violence. 3) Trump succeeded," Newsom wrote. "4) Now things are destabilized and we need to send in more law enforcement just to clean up Trump's mess." Family members of several people detained last week in an ICE sweep pleaded for the release of their loved ones at a press conference Monday. Elaina Jung Hee Vermeulen, with the California Collaborative for Immigrant Justice, said she attempted on Sunday to meet with some of the detained warehouse workers. "Instead of allowing me to meet with community members, they jumped onto trucks in riot gear," she said. Vermeulen urged local leaders to protect the rights of working class immigrants and said ICE must be banned from entering workplaces. "Every single person who is here, who is figintg for a better life for their family, deserves to have their rights protected," she said. As South Dakota governor in February 2024, Kristi Noem threatened then-President Joe Biden when Democrats said he should federalize the National Guard in Texas to disrupt that state governor's anti-immigration efforts. If he did, Noem warned, Biden would be mounting a 'direct attack on states' rights,' and sparking a 'war' between Washington and Republican-led state governments, she said in a Feb. 6, 2024 interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity. On June 8, Noem − now Trump's Homeland Security secretary − cheered Trump for doing the same thing to the Democratic governor of the state of California. On CBS News' Face the Nation Sunday, Noem explained her reversal by saying, "Governor Newsom has proven that he makes bad decisions." Read more here. − Josh Meyer A California sheriff running for governor isn't pleased with former Vice President Kamala Harris' reaction to the explosive protests. Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco said in a June 8 post on X that Trump is "not out there lighting cars on fire, hurling projectiles at law enforcement or blocking freeways.' The sheriff, whose county is just north of San Diego and the fourth-most populous county in the state, was responding to Harris' earlier statement where she said the deployment of the National Guard was "meant to provoke chaos.' Harris, who is mulling a bid for California governor next year, put much of the blame on the Trump administration's ICE raids and a "cruel, calculated agenda to spread panic and division." Bianco, who is also running for governor in 2026, is a long-standing Trump supporter who gained a bit of attention in 2021 for vowing not to enforce COVID-19 vaccine mandates in his office. He said Sunday the former VP's comments were 'an embarrassment." 'The Democrats and their 'leaders' own this,' Bianco added. − Phillip M. Bailey Florida state Sen. Ileana Garcia, who co-founded the group Latinas for Trump, criticized his administration's recent immigration enforcement actions as 'unacceptable and inhumane' in a post on X. Her remarks come as federal agents have arrested immigrants in courthouses across the U.S., including Florida, stripping them of due process protections, as NBC News reported. 'I understand the importance of deporting criminal aliens, but what we are witnessing are arbitrary measures to hunt down people who are complying with their immigration hearings − in many cases, with credible fear of persecution claims − all driven by a Miller-like desire to satisfy a self-fabricated deportation goal,' she wrote in her post, referring to White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller. She said she stands with Florida Republican Rep. María Elvira Salazar, who wrote in a statement June 6 that 'anyone with a pending asylum case, status-adjustment petition, or similar claim deserves to go through the legal process.' − Sudiksha Kochi Trump border czar Tom Homan on Monday denied ever calling for the arrest of Newsom. Homan told Fox News that he was asked if Newsom or Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass could be arrested and Homan responded that, if they commit a crime, they could be arrested. 'There was no discussion about arresting Newsom,' Homan said. Newsom had addressed the issue on social media, saying that "Trump's border czar is threatening to arrest me for speaking out. Come and get me, tough guy. I don't give a damn. It won't stop me from standing up for California." At 8 p.m. local time on Sunday, authorities declared the protest to be an unlawful assembly and moved in aggressively with flash-bangs and tear gas grenades. That sent hundreds of people running, their eyes streaming with tears. Helicopters clattered overhead as protesters fled the area to the honking of car horns and periodic cheers. According to preliminary information, police said at least 10 people have been arrested and three officers were injured during protests on Sunday. California Highway Patrol arrested 17 people on the 101 Freeway, police said. On Saturday, police arrested 29 people. The protests began Friday after Immigration and Customs Enforcement sweeps in the area resulted in more than 40 arrests. Tricia McLaughlin, a spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Security, defended the raids and said those arrested by ICE included a Vietnamese man convicted of second-degree murder, an Ecuadoran man convicted of possession of five kilograms of cocaine, and a Filipino man convicted of sexual offenses. "These rioters in Los Angeles are fighting to keep rapists, murderers and other violent criminals loose on Los Angeles streets," McLaughlin said in a statement. "Instead of rioting, they should be thanking ICE officers every single day who wake up and make our communities safer." Protests against immigration enforcement policies were not limited to the Los Angeles area. In San Francisco, a demonstration that drew hundreds ended with violence and about 60 arrests, police said. "Individuals in the group became violent and began to commit crimes ranging from assault to felony vandalism and causing property damage," San Francisco police said in a statement. An unlawful assembly was declared and many left the scene while others vandalized buildings and police cars. Two officers suffered non-life-threatening injuries. "Individuals are always free to exercise their First Amendment rights in San Francisco but violence especially against SFPD officers - will never be tolerated," the statement said. Videos show Waymo cars on fire amid LA protests; service reportedly suspended Photos and videos show several Waymo self-driving cars being torched during the protests. The LAPD said one street had been closed indefinitely after "multiple autonomous vehicles" had been set on fire. Footage shared on social media captured several of Waymo driverless taxis engulfed in flames in the June 8 protests. Others were vandalized with messages against Trump and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, videos show. Waymo suspended service in downtown Los Angeles and "will not be serving any rides in the protest area until it is deemed safe," a company spokesperson told NBC News. − Melina Khan This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Marines heading to LA; Newsom says move is Trump's 'deranged fantasy'
