College protests live: Dozens of pro-Palestinian activists arrested as NYPD under fire for crackdown
Police officers in riot gear seen moving on an encampment on University of Virginia lawn
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Police have arrested dozens of pro-Palestinian students as protests against Israel’s war in Gaza continued across universities over the weekend.
At least 25 protesters were arrested as police cleared an encampment at the University of Virginia, the university said in a statement.
Dozens of people were arrested for criminal trespass outside the Art Institute of Chicago at a demonstration after the institute called in police to remove protesters.
Meanwhile, students carried flags and banners during the University of Michigan’s commencement ceremony after the NYPD revealed on Friday morning that a police officer with the department’s Emergency Service Unit “unintentionally” fired his gun while trying to access a locked office at Columbia University.
The bullet hit a wall inside the office. No one was injured.
On Thursday morning, hundreds of police officers dismantled a pro-Palestinian protest camp at the University of California at Los Angeles and arrested more than 130 demonstrators.
Live TV footage showed protesters under arrest, kneeling on the ground, their hands bound behind their backs with zip ties. Loud explosions were heard during the clash from flash-bang charges, or stun grenades, fired by police.
President Joe Biden also denounced protests that turned violent on college campuses on Thursday.
Police clear Portland State University library a second time
Pro-Palestinian protesters broke back into the Portland State University Library on Thursday evening, leading to police again entering and clearing the building.
At least seven more people were arrested on Thursday evening, according to KGW.
Portland Police added that Portland State University’s Campus Safety detained one person.
“We can now confirm that trespassers did pull down the fence and broke back into the library. Police officers moved back into the library and made arrests. Arrests have also been made for people refusing to leave the park block at the library,” Portland Police wrote on X.
Thirty people had been arrested so far as of Thursday afternoon in connection to the pro-Palestinian protests on the campus of Portland State, according to the Portland Police Bureau. At least seven were PSU students, according to Portland Police.
Officer ‘unintentionally’ fired gun while breaching locked office at Columbia, NYPD says
Stanford sends FBI photo of protester in alleged Hamas-like headband
Stanford University said it sent a photo of a protester in a green headband to the FBI.
The school issued an update on the state of the school and the ongoing protests on 30 April, and mentioned that a photo circulating on social media of the protester with the green headband had caused some concern.
“We have received many expressions of concern about a photo circulating on social media of an individual on White Plaza who appeared to be wearing a green headband similar to those worn by members of Hamas. We find this deeply disturbing, as Hamas is designated a terrorist organization by the United States government,” the school said in the statement. “We have not been able to identify the individual but have forwarded the photo to the FBI.”
PHOTOS: Portland students face off with police
Nearly 2,200 people have been arrested during pro-Palestinian protests on US college campuses
Police have arrested nearly 2,200 people during pro-Palestinian protests at college campuses across the United States in recent weeks, sometimes using riot gear, tactical vehicles and flash-bang devices to clear tent encampments and occupied buildings. One officer accidentally discharged his gun inside a Columbia University administration building while clearing out protesters camped inside, authorities said.
No one was injured by the officer’s mistake late Tuesday inside Hamilton Hall on the Columbia campus, the NYPD said Thursday. He was trying to use the flashlight attached to his gun at the time and instead fired a single round that struck a frame on the wall.
There were other officers but no students in the immediate vicinity, officials said. Body camera footage shows when the officer’s gun went off, but the district attorney’s office is conducting a review, a standard practice.
ICYMI: Watch as Lauren Boebert is heckled by students after turning up to college Gaza protest
Biden condemns unrest following Gaza protests after police storm campuses: ‘Violent protest is not protected’
President Biden on Thursday condemned the unrest and violence that has disrupted college campuses over the last week while stressing the importance of Americans’ right to protest peacefully in support of the Palestinian people’s treatment during Israel’s ongoing war against Hamas in Gaza.
Mr Biden, speaking from the East Room of the White House, said peaceful protest is “in the best tradition of how Americans respond to consequential issues” because the US is “not an authoritarian nation where we silence people or squash dissent”.
He said the images of police clashing with protesters put the “fundamental American principles” of free speech and the rule of law “to the test” as he pointed out the importance of maintaining the latter to allow the former.
The Independent’s White House Correspondent Andrew Feinberg has the story:
Biden condemns unrest after Gaza demonstrations: ‘Violent protest is not protected’
President’s remarks come after police were met with violence while clearing Gaza protest encampments from college campuses nationwide
ICYMI: US House passes bipartisan antisemitism bill
The US House of Representatives passed an antisemitism bill on Wednesday evening as pro-Palestinian campus protests surge across the country.
The bill would create “a clear definition of antisemitism” if passed by the US Senate and signed by the president. In turn, this bill would then allow the US Department of Education to cut funding to schools found tolerating behaviour that falls under the definition.
The bill passed with bipartisan support, 320-91.
Free speech advocates, however, oppose the bill. The American Civil Liberties Union argues the bill “would likely chill free speech of students on college campuses by incorrectly equating criticism of the Israeli government with antisemitism.”
PEN America, a non-profit that advocates for free expression, also condemned the bill, noting that it would adopt the definition of antisemitism as laid out by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA).
“This definition, and its illustrative examples, is overbroad; its enshrinement into law could lead to significant impairment of academic freedom, free speech and legitimate political expression,” the organisation wrote this week.
“Codifying the IHRA definition, which was never intended to be legally binding or otherwise codified into law, is not the right way to attack antisemitic speech and bigotry,” the organisation continued. “Its vague nature is ill-suited to serve as a legal standard, much less form a basis for punitive action.”
Representative Michael Lawler, a Republican from New York who sponsored the bill, said enshrining the IHRA definition in law will instead protect Jewish students on college campuses.
“By requiring the Department of Education to adopt the IHRA Working Definition of Antisemitism and its contemporary examples, the Antisemitism Awareness Act gives teeth to federal anti-discrimination laws to go after those who attack their Jewish peers,” Mr Lawler said. “Politics should never get in the way of the safety of students. The strong bipartisan support for and passage of this legislation will ensure that it won’t.”
The University of Buffalo says ok to protests, but no to an encampment
The University of Buffalo said on Friday that it was amenable to hosting Gaza protesters, so long as they follow the school’s guidelines and do not occupy buildings or build an encampment.
It said in a statement that in addition to staying out of buildings and not camping out, protesters “mus not disrupt university operations or activities including classes, events, meetings, and lectures”.
UB Students for Justice in Palestine, a group planning a demonstration on campus, said it would follow the university’s rules and that it would not camp out overnight.
Columbia University to be investigated by US Department of Education over alleged discrimination against Palestinian students and advocates
Columbia University is being investigated by the US Department of Education after a civil rights complaint was filed against the school alleging that Palestinian students and their supporters received discriminatory treatment on campus.
The civil rights complaint was filed by Palestine Legal, an advocacy group focused on Palestinian rights. The complaint was filed to the Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights on behalf of four students and the on-campus group Columbia Students for Justice in Palestine, ABC News reports.
Palestine Legal's complaint focuses on the university's decision to call the NYPD to quash a Gaza protest on campus late Monday and in the overnight hours of Tuesday. It also includes examples of other discriminatory acts against Palestinian, Arab, Muslim, and students who advocated for Palestinian rights prior to the protests.
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