Columbia janitors sue protesters who allegedly held them hostage in Hamilton Hall takeover while revealing chilling maps used in attack

Two Columbia University custodians are suing more than 40 protesters from the Hamilton Hall riot who allegedly held them hostage — revealing chilling hand-drawn maps used in the “highly coordinated’’ attack.Mario Torres and Lester Wilson were carrying out their regular overnight shift at the historic university building in April 2024 when the masked protesters assaulted and battered them, held them against their will and derided them as “Jew-lovers” and “Zionists,” according to the lawsuit filed in Manhattan federal court Friday.The suit also includes new details about how the protesters planned and carried out the violent occupation of Hamilton Hall — allegedly with the help of a how-to guide titled, “Palestine Action: The Underground Manual.”“The co-conspirators had compiled information and had drawn maps of Hamilton Hall that identified, inter alia, the location of heavy equipment that could be used to fortify the building, including podium toppers, tables, and benches, the location of each door and window on the third floor including certain windows that needed to be blocked to secure the building, and the locations of fire extinguishers, water fountains, and electrical panels,” the lawsuit claims.The plaintiffs provided diagrams allegedly taken from the protesters that show mock-ups of the floor plans of Hamilton Hall, citing the key locations.Hours before the destructive takeover occurred April 29, the protesters held a meeting where they “solidified and set into motion their coordinated plan to seize Hamilton Hall,” according to the lawsuit.The defendants handed out “rope, zip ties, bike locks, food and water, cots, and other supplies” to carry out the raid — with the message to “MOBOLIZE TO COLUMBIA NOW!” going out at 11:27 p.m., the suit says.James Carlson, 41, was among the alleged key conspirators named in the lawsuit who fought with Torres inside the hall after the mob allegedly failed to bribe him and Wilson, wit...