Ilhan Omar's Daughter Arrested at Campus Protest

Ilhan Omar's 21-year-old daughter was arrested and suspended from college after participating in pro-Palestinian protests. Isra Hirsi, who attends the private liberal arts school Barnard College in Manhattan, was participating in a "Gaza Solidarity Encampment" at Columbia University, Barnard's partner school which is located across the street. Police said 108 protesters, among them Hirsi, were arrested Thursday for alleged trespassing, the Minneapolis Star-Tribune reports. Columbia had alerted police to the situation and asked them to intervene if necessary after the protesters had been on the lawn for 30 hours, refusing to leave, New York's mayor and police commissioner said, per NBC News. The congresswoman has not yet commented on her daughter's arrest.

Hirsi later announced she and other Barnard students had been suspended for their involvement. "i'm an organizer with CU Apartheid Divest @ColumbiaSJP, in my 3 years at @BarnardCollege i have never been reprimanded or received any disciplinary warnings," she wrote, and yet, "i just received notice that i am 1 of 3 students suspended for standing in solidarity with Palestinians facing a genocide." Barnard says in its own statement that the encampment was not authorized, and that "given the evolving circumstances," Barnard has now "temporarily restricted access to certain outdoor spaces on our campus." On Wednesday, Omar had questioned Columbia's president about how the school treats protesters, during a hearing on Capitol Hill about antisemitism on college campuses. (More Ilhan Omar stories.)