Finance and business moguls held Zoom with Eric Adams urging him to bring in police on Columbia protesters

Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Get our free Inside Washington email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. open image in gallery Demonstrators are on the Columbia University campus in New York at a pro-Palestinian protest encampment on April 29 During the Zoom, participants also allegedly spoke about donating to the mayor and hiring private investigators who could assist the NYPD in managing protesters, an offer that a member of the chat group suggests Mayor Adams accepted. The alleged April meeting was part of larger efforts by members of the WhatsApp group, which reportedly included figures from the very upper echelons of business including former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz, Dell founder and CEO Michael Dell, billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman, and investor Joshua Kushner, the brother of Jared Kushner, Donald Trump’s son-in-law and a former Trump administration official. When asked byThe Independent about the alleged meeting and the discussions therein, the mayor’s office responded with the following statement, attributed to deputy mayor Fabien Levy: “Let’s be very clear: Both times the NYPD entered Columbia University’s campus — on April 18th and April 30th — were in response to specific written requests from Columbia University to do so. “Quite extraordinary!” A spokesperson for Mr Schultz told the Post the executive attended the briefing with Bennett, and the Israeli Embassy confirmed to the paper the briefing with Mr Herzog took place, calling it “one of dozens” of such sessions with members of the public, a reflection of how “communities here in the US understandably wanted to learn more about what was happening on the ground in Israel.” A Schultz representative told The Independent the entrepreneur “is pained by the loss of innocent lives in Gaza and Israel,” but left the chat group in October, did not attend the April Zoom meeting, and “did not participate in, or contribute financially to, any of the group’s work.” A spokesperson for Mr Kushner, when asked if he was a member of the group chat or attended the alleged Zoom meeting with the mayor, told The Independent, “No, Josh has not participated in this.” The Independent has contacted Mr open image in gallery Bill Ackman for comment.