A 63-year-old woman seen instructing student demonstrators at Columbia University is a professional protester who charges as much as $300 for her services.
Lisa Fithian, a constant figure at leftist protests for nearly five decades, was one of the Palestine supporters who 'occupied' Hamilton Hall on Tuesday.
As a counter-protester tried to prevent the protesters from barricading the building, Fithian was filmed telling them: 'This is ridiculous... We’re trying to end a genocide in Gaza.'
Additional footage shows her instructing students to 'Tie it right to the lock' as they held zip ties.
While the presence of a middle-aged woman at the demonstration may have struck some as odd, the Columbia encampment is exactly the kind of movement Fithian has made a career out of.
When asked about her presence at the protest, Fithian denied being an organizer, telling the Boston Globe that she was being smeared by the right.
'They love to hate me,' the activist said, adding that she was on campus on Monday conducting a 'training session on safety and logistics of a protest.'
The Austin, Texas, resident claimed she was invited 'informally' by someone whose name 'she did not catch.'
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https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13375673/professional-protester-columbia-university-nyc-lisa-fithian.html