Campus Alert Archive
Barnard

Bomb Threat Ends a Sit-In: Barnard Calls NYPD After Three-Hour Milstein Library Occupation

NYbomb threatemergency notificationmedium confidence
UnfoundedNo evidence of an actual threat was found. The institutional response is documented because the alert communication is identical to what would occur during a real incident.

On March 5, 2025, approximately 50 students began a sit-in at Barnard's Milstein Center around 1:00 PM EST to protest the expulsion of three Columbia/Barnard students. At 4:15 PM EST, Barnard Vice President Robin Levine announced a bomb threat targeting Milstein and ordered the building evacuated. Barnard CARES then issued a shelter-in-place alert at 4:43 PM EST. Nine protesters who refused to leave were arrested by NYPD. The bomb threat was determined to be unfounded.

Alerts
4
Response
—
Killed
0
Injured
0
Institution
Barnard College
Private Liberal Arts · NY
~2,700 studentsBarnard CARES
Confirmed Timeline

Alert Sequence

4 messages in sequence · 1 verified verbatim

Some alert texts below are approximate reconstructions from news coverage, not confirmed verbatim transcripts. Reconstructed texts are shown in italic with a dashed border. Verified verbatim texts have a solid border and are marked accordingly.

INITIAL ALERTin-person-announcement
Approximate reconstruction186 chars
We have received a bomb threat at the Milstein Center. Everyone needs to evacuate the building immediately. Please leave the area and follow the directions of Public Safety and the NYPD.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

Reconstructed from Bwog and Columbia Spectator real-time reporting; Murray made the announcement verbally inside Milstein at 4:17 PM EST
This in-person announcement preceded the formal CARES text alert by approximately 26 minutes
Made directly to the protesters and other library occupants over their chants and a drumbeat
UPDATEEmail+26 min
Approximate reconstruction351 chars
Members of the Barnard community: Barnard Public Safety is responding to an active threat at the Milstein Center. All individuals in Barnard buildings other than Milstein should shelter in place and await further instruction. Please avoid the main gate at 117th Street and Broadway and avoid the Milstein Center until further notice. NYPD is on scene.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

Reconstructed from multiple student-press accounts that quote portions of the CARES email — specifically the 'shelter in place,' 'active threat,' 'main gate at 117th Street,' and 'avoid the Milstein Center' language
Sent at 4:43 PM EST — 26 minutes after Murray's in-person announcement inside the building
Gary Maroni, Interim Executive Director of CARES, signed the alert
FOLLOW-UPsocial-media+35 min
Verified verbatimNYPD social media post quoted verbatim in ABC News and multiple outlets208 chars
The NYPD is responding to a bomb threat at the Milstein Center at Barnard College and is evacuating the building. Anyone who refuses to leave the location is subject to arrest. Please stay away from the area.
Verbatim NYPD social-media post quoted in ABC News and Good Morning America coverage
Posted at approximately 4:52 PM EST as NYPD officers entered the Barnard main gate at 117th Street and Broadway
The 'subject to arrest' phrasing functioned as a warning that immediately preceded the actual arrests
ALL CLEAREmail
Approximate reconstruction393 chars
Members of the Barnard community: NYPD has determined that the bomb threat at the Milstein Center is not credible and the building has been cleared. The shelter-in-place advisory is lifted. Nine individuals were taken into custody after refusing to leave the building. We are grateful to Barnard Public Safety, NYPD, and the entire community for their patience during this difficult afternoon.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

Reconstructed; the all-clear was issued by Barnard CARES that evening per Spectator coverage
NYPD confirmed 'no threat to the public' approximately 7:00 PM EST per ABC News
Nine arrests were for refusing to comply with the evacuation order, not for the bomb threat itself
Context

Background

On the afternoon of March 5, 2025, approximately 50 pro-Palestine demonstrators filed into Barnard's Milstein Center through a side door at 1:00 PM EST, beginning a sit-in to protest the expulsion of three Columbia/Barnard students disciplined for participation in the April 2024 Hamilton Hall occupation and a separate incident involving antisemitic flyers. At 4:17 PM EST — more than three hours after the sit-in began — Kelli Murray, Barnard's Executive Vice President, made an in-person announcement inside Milstein that the college had received a bomb threat and was evacuating the building. At 4:43 PM EST, Interim Executive Director of CARES Gary Maroni issued a campus-wide shelter-in-place alert via the Barnard CARES Response Team email system. At 4:52 PM EST, NYPD officers entered the campus through the 117th Street main gate. Approximately 50 officers, including Strategic Response Group members, cleared the building. Nine protesters who refused to evacuate were arrested. NYPD confirmed the bomb threat was not credible by evening. Subsequent reporting by The Intercept established that the bomb threat appears to have been called in by someone targeting the protesters rather than by the protesters themselves. Barnard President Laura Rosenbury subsequently restricted campus access to ID holders, banned masks in the library, and announced possible bag checks. The Barnard Student Government Association issued an open letter protesting that the College had been 'explicitly told by President Rosenbury, in the presence of other senior staff, that the College would never invite the NYPD onto campus.'
Analysis

Key Findings

First documented instance in 2024-25 of a campus bomb threat being used to clear an ongoing sit-in — collapsing two distinct alert categories (civil-disturbance advisory + bomb-threat emergency-notification) into a single afternoon
Three-tier alert architecture: in-person verbal announcement at 4:17 PM EST, Barnard CARES email at 4:43 PM EST, NYPD social-media warning at 4:52 PM EST — each escalating in formality and consequence
Reporting that the bomb threat targeted the protesters rather than originating from them complicates standard Clery threat-attribution frameworks and highlights the weaponization of swatting against student activists
Outcome
Nine protesters were arrested by NYPD for refusing to evacuate the Milstein Center. The bomb threat was determined to be unfounded by police later that evening. Reporting later established the bomb threat was likely targeting the protesters themselves rather than originating from them. Barnard subsequently restricted campus access to ID holders, banned masks in the library, and announced possible bag checks.
Provenance

Sources

  1. Student Paper
    Barnard administrators announce bomb threat in Milstein, order shelter in place (Columbia Spectator)
    columbiaspectator.com
  2. Student Paper
    NYPD arrests students on Barnard campus amid 'active bomb threat' (Barnard Bulletin)
    thebarnardbulletin.com
  3. national media
    'No threat to the public,' NYPD says after responding to Barnard College bomb scare (ABC News)
    abcnews.go.com
  4. News
    Bomb Threat on Barnard Campus Ends Sit-In as Police Make 9 Arrests (West Side Rag)
    westsiderag.com
  5. Student Paper
    Pro-Palestine Student Demonstrators Hold Sit-In In Barnard's Milstein Center, Nine Individuals Arrested (Bwog)
    bwog.com
  6. national media
    Police detain protesters after bomb threat at Barnard College (Washington Post)
    washingtonpost.com
  7. national media
    A Bomb Threat Targeted Student Protesters. So Why Did They Get Blamed for It? (The Intercept)
    theintercept.com
  8. national media
    Barnard clamps down after bomb threat clears pro-Palestinian protest in library (Forward/JTA)
    forward.com
Tags
bomb-threatunfoundedcivil-disturbanceshelter-in-placegaza-protestwomens-collegeprivate-liberal-artsnew-yorknypdswatting-suspectedmilstein-centerUnfounded
Added May 2026Updated May 2026Via ingestion