New York police have arrested about 300 protesters during campus raids at Columbia University and The City University of New York (CUNY) in New York on Tuesday night.

Eric Adams, the city’s mayor, says the “massive operation” took place at Columbia’s request to remove those who had occupied a building.

City officials also alleged that “outside agitators” had “co-opted” a peaceful pro-Palestinian demonstration, echoing statements from officials elsewhere in the country.

Elsewhere, the vice-chancellor of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) has reported “horrific acts of violence” overnight at the university’s own pro-Palestinian encampment.

US universities have been gripped by protest