Speaker Johnson To Columbia Protestors: 'Go Back To Class And Stop The Nonsense'

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), backed by a small group of fellow Republican House members, had a simple message Wednesday for Columbia University students who have set up a protest in the college’s main square.

“Go back to class and stop the nonsense,” Johnson said in a press conference on the steps of the university library, as he and his fellow lawmakers were forcefully booed by some students.

“If we want to have a debate on campus about the merits of these things, let’s do that. But you can’t intimidate your fellow students and make them stay home from class,” he said.

Columbia has been one of several elite colleges in recent weeks to see its campus roiled by activists angry at Israel’s invasion of Gaza, which it launched after a bloody Hamas-led attack on Oct. 7.

At Columbia, protestors created the “Gaza Solidarity Encampment” to demand the school divest from financial interests in Israel amid the military campaign in Gaza, which has so far killed some 34,000 Palestinians and led to famine. The continuing protests have led the university’s president, Nemat Shafik, to announce students could attend virtual classes until the end of the semester.

The demonstrations have attracted both defenders and critics: Protesters have been accused of antisemitism and harassment of Jewish students, with some saying they feel unsafe. However, some of the demonstrators are Jews protesting in solidarity with Palestine, a sign of the American Jewish community’s spliton the issue of Israel’s campaign in Gaza.

Columbia’s administration has been trying to negotiate with the protestors to take the encampment down. On Thursday, the New York Police Department arrested more than 100 activists in a sweep of the encampment.

As he spoke