NYPD video shows professional 'protest consultant' at Columbia

Addressing concerns about non-students influencing the demonstrations, Adams said: "You don't have to be the majority to influence and co-op an operation."

By Madeleine Hubbard

Published: May 1, 2024 9:35am

The New York City Police Department released a video showing a professional "protest consultant" instructing anti-Israel demonstrators at Columbia University as they took over a campus building.

The consultant, 63-year-old Lisa Fithian, was featured in a video shown during a press conference Tuesday about the decision to crack down on protesters at Columbia.

Fithian, who was described by Mother Jones as the "the nation’s best-known protest consultant," has worked for decades supporting various liberal causes, according to her website.

"We’re trying to document them being a- -holes," Lisa Fithian said to the camera person in the video, per Fox News. "You’re right. They are being a - -holes."

Addressing concerns about non-students influencing the student demonstrations during a press conference Wednesday, New York City Mayor Eric Adams said: "You don't have to be the majority to influence and co-op an operation."

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