Custodians attacked by anti-Israel agitators taking Columbia to court: 'Epic failure'

The union representing the custodians who were caught in the middle of the anti-Israel building takeover at Columbia University last month is taking legal action over the school's handling of the violent demonstrations.

Transport Workers Union sued Columbia University for failing to protect some of its workers amid protesters' violent takeover of Hamilton Hall on April 30. Union President John Samuelsen joined "Fox & Friends," Thursday, to discuss why the union resorted to legal action against the university for its response to the unruly mob. 

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"First of all, Columbia should have never put the custodians or the security officer in that position, and that's at the heart of the matter," Samuelsen told co-host Ainsley Earhardt on Thursday. "Columbia showed an epic disregard and epically failed to protect the workforce. They knew that this was a potential. They knew that that building was likely going to be stormed and taken over, and yet they assigned the work there anyway."

"They should have never done it," he continued. "It's been an epic failure, and I think it's part and parcel with the overall Ivy League snark that Columbia demonstrates over and over toward the blue-collar workforce."

According to the New York Post, at least two custodians and one security guard were on shift the night of April 30 when the unruly, masked protesters took over the academic building. 

"How the hell am I going to get out of here now? You see the chaos… and you start hearing them and what they're doing, and you're like… this is a movie," one of the workers told The Free Press after pro-Hamas demonstrators stormed Hamilton Hall. 

The chaos began at approximately 12:30 a.m., when anti-Israel protesters who had been staying on the academic lawn of Columbia's Manhattan campus, where about 120 tents remain, stormed Hamilton Hall, an academic building used by the dean. The mob shattered windows, barricaded doors using tables and chairs, and obscured the windows of the facility.

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The major escalation came hours after Columbia University administrators began suspending students who failed to leave their encampment.

"They held me hostage," one worker who was in the building said after he was allowed to leave, according to the student newspaper Columbia Spectator.

The worker exited the building at around 12:40 a.m., per the publication.

"Everybody in the building, the entire TW workforce in the building was fearful, and rightfully so," Samuelsen said. "They stormed in, but in particular, two of the custodians had to fight their way out. They were explicitly told, you're staying here. You're not going anywhere. This cause is bigger than you."

"Imagine that. Imagine two kinds of smarmy, sort of entitled, spoiled, bratty occupiers of the building come in and tell these blue-collar men and women, you're not going anywhere," he continued. "You're staying here because this cause is bigger than you, when they had to get home to their families. It's outrageous. It's an affront to workers everywhere."

Ultimately, police arrested 282 people and worked to dismantle illegal encampments. The NYPD revealed half of those arrested were outside agitators not affiliated with the universities. 

"We were appalled. I think that workers everywhere should be appalled," Samuelsen said. "And just to be clear, it wasn't every protester and not every protester at Columbia has been hostile to our workforce. We're particularly incensed at Columbia, for not protecting the workers and particularly pissed at those particular protesters that tried to hold our workers in the building."

Fox News' Lawrence Richard, Emma Colton and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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