Pamphlets outlining how to "build a culture of resistance against" Immigration and Customs Enforcement were available in Columbia’s main library Monday night, the Washington Free Beacon has learned. A second stack of handouts detailed how radical activists can protect themselves while participating in various protests, including encampments and while occupying administrative buildings.
The first pamphlet, titled "8 THINGS YOU CAN DO TO STOP ICE," was attributed to the anarchist group CrimethInc. and calls on activists to "Abolish ICE" and "Shut Out The Police." The second set, adorned with the anti-Israel National Lawyers Guild’s logo and titled "KNOW YOUR RIGHTS FOR CAMPUS PROTESTS," warned that corporations may use lawsuits "to target protected speech" and suggested finding allies among faculty and school administrators.
Both sets of flyers, obtained by the Free Beacon, filled a bin sporting two labels: one that read "Know Your Rights Educational Resources," and another that read "Property of library staff—do not remove."
The prospect of additional intense protests on campus—with more educated agitators—could spell trouble for the Ivy League university as it angles to restore its federal funding. Columbia is grappling with enforcing new policy reforms—including new restrictions on mask-wearing during rallies—aimed at curbing unruly and sometimes violent anti-Semitic protests. Those rules were imposed in a bid to begin negotiations with the Trump administration to restore more than $430 million in federal funds. Yet earlier on Monday, footage showed masked agitators marching against the reforms unimpeded without being asked to identify themselves.
Anti-ICE sentiment has also become prominent since federal immigration authorities detained Mahmoud Khalil, the Columbia protest leader facing deportation efforts. Several professors canceled classes in response, with at least one providing guidance on how to respond if ICE agents came to her classroom.
And while the handouts in the library didn’t suggest protesters use face coverings to conceal their identities, they did detail a number of radical actions.
The pamphlet by CrimethInc.—a self-described "international network of aspiring revolutionaries"—includes a section titled "Stand in Solidarity With ICE Detainees—Fight To Abolish ICE," which calls on activists to "[o]rganize to prevent the construction of new ICE facilities" and "[m]obilize against contractors that work with ICE."
Another section, "Build a Culture of Resistance Against ICE and State Repression," tells readers to create an anti-ICE community and to "[e]ncourage non-cooperation with ICE."
"Every time ICE wants to attack your community, they should know that their activity will be recorded and reported, that people will converge on them wherever they show up, that there will be consequences for their actions," the pamphlet reads. "Every operation should cost them more resources than the last."
"Organize a rapid response network to mobilize against ICE raids by recording their activity," and to "block or slow their actions," the pamphlet adds.
Wallet-sized cards scattered in front of the bin holding the flyers provided instructions for anyone approached by ICE agents. "I do not wish to speak with you, answer your questions, or sign or hand you any documents based on my 5th Amendment rights under the United States Constitution," the cards read.
Columbia agitators have already taken cues from CrimethInc. In January, student radicals followed instructions the anarchist group authored to clog the toilets of a Columbia graduate school with cement. Those instructions were included in CrimethInc.’s "Recipes For Disaster" tactical guide, which was featured during an event hosted by Alpha Delta Phi, a university-recognized student organization.
The National Lawyers Guild’s pamphlet, meanwhile, provides a list of various types of protests and categorizes them as "Low to Medium Risk" and "Higher Risk." The first section includes actions like protesting speakers or registering for events and not attending to leave the room empty. The riskier protests listed include "Occupying a space on campus or administrative building" and "setting up an encampment on campus grounds."
The flyer also provides a number of warnings and suggestions on how activists can protect themselves. It notes, for example, that privacy rights may be tighter on campus and that school emails could be monitored. It lists possible ramifications, such as campus bans or lawsuits, which "are a rising tactic corporations are using to target protected-speech."
The pamphlet recommends finding "supportive faculty and administrators immediately. You may need their influence/assistance."
"If some organizers are singled out for discipline, organize students, faculty, and outside groups to support them!" it reads. "Provide mental health resources for organizers and participants of protests. Make space for folks to gather and process the action and any negative responses or pressure from administration or outside sources."
A Columbia spokeswoman told the Free Beacon the school is "aware of a pamphlet that was found in a University library. It is not an official University material, and we are reviewing the incident."
The National Lawyers Guild defended Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, terror attack, arguing that Palestinians have a right to use "armed struggle" against Israel. It also called on the U.S. government to remove terrorist designations for Hamas and Hezbollah because they are "exercising their fundamental and protected right to self-defense."