NEW YORK — Hundreds of NYPD officers in riot gear stormed Columbia University Tuesday evening, hours after administrators at the school announced Pro-Palestinian student protesters who forced their way into a campus building are facing expulsion.

It was not immediately clear from official sources if the police had entered Hamilton Hall, Columbia’s main administration building. Social media posts from campus reported NYPD cops had entered Hamilton through a window.

The disciplinary decision to expel students involved in the building’s violent takeover came after demonstrators damaged school property and prompted censure from the White House.

The occupation began early Tuesday morning at Hamilton Hall, Columbia’s main administrative building, hours after the school suspended students who ignored an order to break up their encampment. It prompted the university to restrict access to the campus, only allowing students who live in dorms and essential services staff to remain.

“Protesters have chosen to escalate to an untenable situation — vandalizing property, breaking doors and windows, and blockading entrances,” said university spokesman Ben Chang in a statement.

“This is about responding to the actions of the protesters, not their cause,” he continued. “As we said yesterday, disruptions on campus have created a threatening environment for many of our Jewish students and faculty.”

While many classes have already ended for the semester, some graduate programs pivoted to remote. All main campus libraries were shuttered, just as final exam season is getting underway. The restrictions will “remain in place until circumstances allow otherwise,” according to a memo from the university.

Student protesters said in a statement that they will stay until Columbia concedes to three demands: divestment from Israel, financial transparency and amnesty for all student and faculty disciplinary action related to pro-Palestinian advocacy.

“Resistance is justified in the movement for liberation,” said Columbia University Apartheid Divest, a coalition of more than 100 groups behind the encampment, which persisted on the lawns while other students occupied the hall.

A rep for Columbia University Apartheid Divest estimated there are around 60 protesters inside the hall, who they said were acting separately from the coalition.

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