A now-former Bloomberg Information reporter was arrested when anti-Israel protesters took over Columbia College’s primary library this month, in accordance with legislation enforcement sources.
Jason Kao, who additionally used to work on the New York Instances, was charged with felony trespass after NYPD officers entered Butler Library to regain management of the constructing on the elite Morningside Heights campus on Might 7, sources confirmed Monday.
Kao was given a desk look ticket following the arrest at Columbia.
The graphics reporter is now not employed by the monetary information outlet, a Bloomberg spokesperson instructed The Publish Monday.
The spokesperson declined to remark when requested when Kao’s final day was and whether or not the journalist was fired or resigned.
The ex-staffer’s arrest and obvious job loss have been first reported by the Free Beacon.
It’s additionally unclear what position Kao, a 2022 Columbia graduate who wrote for the school’s newspaper, performed within the chaos on the library.
The Publish has reached out to the NYPD for remark.
Police hauled away 81 individuals in the course of the protest contained in the Ivy League library, the place protesters vandalized faculty property and banged on drums, disrupting different college students trying to check for last exams earlier this month.
Appearing faculty president Claire Shipman mentioned on the time that two safety guards have been additionally injured when masked demonstrators stormed the constructing.
Greater than 65 college students have since confronted interim suspensions, whereas 33 people from affiliated establishments and an unspecified variety of alumni have been barred from campus.
Kao beforehand labored on the New York Instances as a part of its fellowship program and most lately contributed to a Bloomberg article on Might 1, the Free Beacon reported.
Kao’s now-deleted X account included quite a few posts in regards to the battle between Israel and Hamas in Gaza following the fear group’s assault on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, in accordance with the Free Beacon.
One other high-profile individual arrested in the course of the library takeover was scholar Ramona Sarsgaard, the 18-year-old daughter of actress Maggie Gyllenhaal.
Makes an attempt to achieve Kao have been unsuccessful Monday evening.
Supply hyperlink
