Man busted at Columbia protest accused of burning Israeli flag

NEW YORK (PIX11) --- A man who was arrested during the Columbia University protests on Tuesday is also accused of stealing and burning an Israeli flag during a Manhattan protest last month, police and sources said Thursday.

James Carlson, 40, of Brooklyn, was arrested Wednesday and charged with criminal mischief, arson, and criminal possession of stolen property in connection to the April 20 incident, according to the NYPD.

Carlson allegedly took the 22-year-old man's Israeli flag and lit it on fire during a protest near West 116th Street and Amsterdam Avenue at around 10 p.m., authorities said.

The victim followed Carlson and two accomplices into the crowd when one of the accomplices threw a rock at the man's face, police said. The victim suffered minor injuries and refused medical attention at the scene.

The other two suspects have not been arrested, police said.

Sources said Carlson was among the protesters arrested at Columbia University Tuesday night. He was charged with criminal trespassing.

Carlson was arraigned in the flag and protest incidents on Thursday and released without bail, according to court records.

Authorities arrested nearly 300 people at protests at Columbia University or City College on Tuesday, according to Mayor Eric Adams.

More than 40% — roughly 130 — of those detained at the New York City campuses were not tied to the schools, according to a source close to the investigation. But the breakdown is much lower for Columbia, specifically, with just 29% of those arrested being unaffiliated with the school, the source said.

It was unclear if the unaffiliated arrests were considered “outside agitators.”