Day: April 24, 2024

(NewsNation) — Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., is speaking at Columbia University amid protests against the war in Gaza.

Johnson was greeted with boos from students, who shouted at him to go back to Washington, D.C. The noise of protesters nearly drowned Johnson out at points during his speech.

The speaker invoked the Founding Fathers as he began his speech.

“We are endowed by our creator with certain inalienable rights,” he said, quoting the Declaration of Independence.

Johnson spoke against what he called “mob rule” and accused protesters of chasing down Jewish students and harassing them.

“The virus of antisemitism has spread across other campuses,” Johnson said.

Students booed and jeered as Johnson spoke against protests at colleges and universities across the country. He called the bravery of Jewish students much more brave than the behavior of protesters.

Columbia University said Wednesday that it is continuing to be in discussions with student protestors taking part in a Gaza Solidarity Encampment on campus as similar demonstrations continue at colleges across the country.

Students at Columbia set up the tent encampments to demand the school divest from companies that they say “profit from Israeli apartheid,” and in protest of Israel’s military action in Gaza that has killed over 34,000 Palestinians.

Over 100 people were arrested at Columbia last Thursday, leading other colleges to create their own encampments in solidarity.