'No threat to the public,' NYPD says after responding to Barnard College bomb scare

The New York Police Department responded to -- and then cleared -- a bomb threat at the Milstein Center at Barnard College on Wednesday.

Officers worked to evacuate the building just before 5 p.m. ET, according to a post on X

"Anyone who refuses to leave the location is subject to arrest," the NYPD advisory said. "Please stay away from the area."

Just before 8 p.m. local time, the NYPD announced that it had cleared the area and concluded that there was no threat to the public, per a follow-up social media post.

"The bomb threat incident at Barnard College has been investigated and cleared," the post read. "There is currently no threat to the public. Please continue to avoid the area and expect traffic delays."

A statement from Barnard later in the evening confirmed its campus was secure. It further explained that the bomb threat arose amid an earlier incident at the school's Milstein Center, in which "masked disruptors" entered the building in the midst of classes.

"During de-escalation efforts, the college received a bomb threat. Despite warnings and a fire alarm activation, many protesters stayed, putting the campus at risk," it said.

"For the safety of our entire community, we requested NYPD assistance," Barnard College President Laura Rosenbury said in the statement.

Confirming that the officers "found no active threat," the statement explained that classes are expected to resume on Thursday.

In a separate statement at the time of the protest on campus, the school said, "Barnard is committed to fostering a safe environment where all students can learn and all members of our community are respected. Our academic mission is at the heart of what we do, and disruptions to that mission are an affront to the purpose of higher education and cannot be tolerated."

Columbia University, which is separate from but affiliated with Barnard College, released a statement regarding the disruption that said, in part, "We are in touch with Barnard's leadership and security team as they address the situation and will continue to monitor it closely. The disruption of academic activities is not acceptable conduct. We are committed to supporting our Columbia student body and our campus community during this challenging time."

Barnard's statement noted that activities across its campus were proceeding as normal following the protests. Within an hour, however, the NYPD was first alerted to a supposed bomb threat in the same vicinity.

ABC News' Morena Basteiro contributed to this report.