Members of the very working class that the campus leftists claim to support.
At Columbia, in April 2024, forty pro-Hamas brownshirts — both students and non-students — invaded Hamilton Hall, barricaded themselves inside, and proceeded to vandalize the building, painting slogans on walls, smashing furniture and causing tens of thousands of dollars in damage. They remained inside for four days, and were finally pulled out and arrested by the NYPD, in an operation that cost the city $200,000. Several janitors who were inside the building when it was taken over had tried to stop the mob from vandalizing, but were instead attacked, beaten, and held hostage. Now two of the janitors, who are still suffering from PTSD a year later, and have been unable to work ever since their ordeal inside the building, are suing their captors.
More on this lawsuit can be found here: “Columbia janitors sue pro-Palestinian protesters who ‘held them hostage’ – report,” Jerusalem Post, April 27, 2025:
Two Columbia University janitors claiming to have been held hostage during campus protests last year are suing their alleged captors for battery, assault, and conspiracy to violate their civil rights, the Free Press reported on Saturday.
The lawsuit, filed by Torridon Law and the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law on behalf of Mario Torres and Lester Wilson, alleged that over 40 Columbia students and “outside agitators” “terrorized” both men “into the early morning of April 30, assaulted and battered them, held them against their will, and derided them as ‘Jew-lovers’ and ‘Zionists.’”
Both Torres and Wilson noted that the break-in felt “highly coordinated,” with the two observing people with “cases of water and food,” “rolled-up mattresses,” and “tape and rope,” according to the lawsuit.
Shortly after the event, Wilson told the Free Press he thought he “could have been killed in there.”
The occupation of Columbia University’s Hamilton Hall occurred almost exactly a year ago, and, according to the lawsuit, both men have struggled with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) that required medical care.
Neither one has returned to work; both instead “subsisting on interim Workers’ Compensation payments,” which have not been able to pay for basic needs and medical bills, according to the suit. --->READ MORE HERE
Two Columbia University custodians are suing more than 40 protesters from the Hamilton Hall riot who allegedly held them hostage — revealing chilling hand-drawn maps used in the “highly coordinated’’ attack.
Mario Torres and Lester Wilson were carrying out their regular overnight shift at the historic university building in April 2024 when the masked protesters assaulted and battered them, held them against their will and derided them as “Jew-lovers” and “Zionists,” according to the lawsuit filed in Manhattan federal court Friday.
The suit also includes new details about how the protesters planned and carried out the violent occupation of Hamilton Hall — allegedly with the help of a how-to guide titled, “Palestine Action: The Underground Manual.”
“The co-conspirators had compiled information and had drawn maps of Hamilton Hall that identified, inter alia, the location of heavy equipment that could be used to fortify the building, including podium toppers, tables, and benches, the location of each door and window on the third floor including certain windows that needed to be blocked to secure the building, and the locations of fire extinguishers, water fountains, and electrical panels,” the lawsuit claims.
The plaintiffs provided diagrams allegedly taken from the protesters that show mock-ups of the floor plans of Hamilton Hall, citing the key locations.
Hours before the destructive takeover occurred April 29, the protesters held a meeting where they “solidified and set into motion their coordinated plan to seize Hamilton Hall,” according to the lawsuit.
The defendants handed out “rope, zip ties, bike locks, food and water, cots, and other supplies” to carry out the raid — with the message to “MOBOLIZE TO COLUMBIA NOW!” going out at 11:27 p.m., the suit says.
James Carlson, 41, was among the alleged key conspirators named in the lawsuit who fought with Torres inside the hall after the mob allegedly failed to bribe him and Wilson, with the protester threatening to pummel Torres when he fought back, the suit states.
“I’m going to get 20 guys up here to f–k you up,” Carlson allegedly said.
Protesters Gabriel Yancy and Ethan Choi also allegedly punched Torres repeatedly during the confrontation, leaving the custodian with injuries in his upper body, the suit says.
The lawsuit claims the students were trained and readied to take over Hamilton Hall by Lisa Fithian, a professional protester and protest consultant.
The lawsuit also names protesters Aidan Parisi, Grant Miner, Catherine Curran-Groome and 40 John Does. --->READ MORE HERE
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