13 protesters arrested at Princeton: 'We prayed and sang together while zip-tied'

PRINCETON, New Jersey (WPVI) -- Chaos continues on college campuses nationwide, including at Princeton University where 13 protesters were arrested Monday night at the New Jersey campus.

The university said a group of protesters "briefly" occupied Clio Hall. Five undergraduates, six graduate students, one postdoctoral researcher and one person not affiliated with the university were arrested for trespassing and have been barred from campus, according to a statement posted online. The students also face suspension or expulsion, officials said.

University officials called the incident "completely unacceptable," and said they "will continue to work to ensure that this campus is one where all members of the community feel welcome and can thrive."

This comes after two students were arrested at Princeton last week at the campus' protest.

In an update issued Tuesday afternoon, Vice President for Campus Life Rochelle Calhoun said staff found themselves surrounded, yelled at, threatened, and ordered out of the building.

Some of the Princeton University students arrested on Monday spoke out this Tuesday in an off-campus news conference since they are now banned from campus.

"We were moved to this action because the university's administration has repeatedly refused to meet with the Princeton Gaza Solidarity encampment's bargaining team," said Jacobs Neis, a PhD candidate.

In a statement released Monday evening, University President Chris Eisgruber said: "I appreciate that this incident was and remains deeply upsetting to many people, including especially the staff of the Graduate School. It is also completely unacceptable. Everyone on this campus needs to feel safe and to be safe."

"We prayed and sang together while zip-tied and handcuffed," said Khari Franklin, a senior.

Some students say they were evicted and barred from university housing.

As the semester draws to a close, many students here are studying for finals.

"I'm all for free speech, but I feel like at the same time there should be some structure rules. I think the university has done a pretty good job so far," said Ilay Furman, a junior undergraduate student from Israel.

He set up a Passover table across from the encampment on Cannon Green.

"I decided this morning, 'OK let's do something.' It's the last day of Passover," said Furman. "And a lot of people are still held hostage in Gaza."

A few campus buildings, including Clio Hall, were locked Tuesday.

University officials say they will not ask prosecutors to drop charges against any of these students.

Protesters say they will continue their demands for divestment and to meet with administrators.

The effort by pro-Palestinian protesters also continues to expand elsewhere.

Students at Rutgers University have set up tents at the New Brunswick campus, joining in calls for schools to divest from companies with ties to Israel.

An encampment is also still erected at the University of Pennsylvania campus.

RELATED: How universities are cracking down on a swell of tension months into student protests

In Chicago, while Northwestern University leadership said they have reached an agreement with a group of students and faculty who represent pro-Palestinian demonstrators to end their campus encampment, another encampment is now set up at the University of Chicago.

On Tuesday, police cleared an encampment at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and detained about 30 people. Later, protesters replaced an American flag there with a Palestinian one. Police then rehung the American flag. Interim Chancellor Lee Roberts told reporters that removing the American flag was "antithetical" to the nature of the UNC community. Some students responded by shouting he was "supporting the genocide of Palestinians." Classes were canceled Tuesday.

Police cleared 30 to 40 people from inside Columbia University's Hamilton Hall late Tuesday after pro-Palestinian protesters occupied the administration building in New York earlier in the day.

Hundreds of NYPD officers acted after the school's president said there was no other way to ensure safety and restore order on campus and sought help from the department. The occupied building had expanded the demonstrators' reach from an encampment elsewhere on the Ivy League school's grounds.

The scene unfolded shortly after 9 p.m. as police, wearing helmets and carrying zip ties and riot shields, massed at the college's entrance. Scores of officers climbed through a window to enter the occupied building, streaming in over a ramp raised from the top of a police vehicle to get inside. Multiple protesters were taken into custody and taken away from campus on buses.

RELATED: Columbia University begins suspending students who refuse to leave encampment

There have been about four dozen arrests so far by the NYPD at Columbia University, according to police sources. The first bus of protesters apprehended by police left the campus area Tuesday night.

The Associated Press contributed to this post.