Police continue to arrest campus protesters from coast to coast

By Anna Betts

Police officers continued to arrest campus protesters from coast to coast this week, with at least 150 more pro-Palestinian demonstrators taken into custody over the last day.

More than 1,100 people have been detained on American campuses since the arrest of 108 protesters on April 18 at Columbia University in New York City launched a wave of student activism nationwide. Here’s where the latest arrests have been made:

— In Northern California, the police arrested 25 protesters early Tuesday and ended the eight-day occupation of an administration building at California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt, that had forced a campus shutdown.

— At Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia, officials said officers from the campus police, Virginia State Police and the Richmond Police Department broke up a protest with riot gear and pepper spray. Administrators said protesters “threw objects and used chemical spray on officers” before 13 people, including six students, were arrested and charged with unlawful assembly and trespassing.

— In Austin, 79 people were arrested at the University of Texas during tense protests on Monday, after 57 were arrested during a similar protest last week. All of those arrested Monday were held on misdemeanor charges, mostly for trespassing, according to a county jail spokesperson. One was charged with interfering with public duties.

— Six people were arrested at Tulane University in New Orleans and charged with offenses including trespassing and resisting arrest after they “stormed university property and erected tents” on campus on Monday, officials said. Administrators said that suspensions were also being issued but did not say how many students were involved.

— Campus police officers entered a pro-Palestinian encampment at the University of Connecticut on Tuesday morning to “remove the tents and tarps and to arrest those who refused compliance,” officials said. A spokesperson did not provide information regarding the number of arrests or charges as of Tuesday morning.

— At the University of Florida in Gainesville, officials said that police officers arrested nine protesters, including six students, who refused to comply with orders to disperse on Monday evening.

— Seventeen protesters were arrested at the University of Utah on Monday night, school officials said, adding that officers removed and dismantled about a dozen tents. “One officer was injured,” officials said, and “one hatchet was confiscated.”

— Local media outlets also reported arrests on Monday at Princeton University, the University of Georgia and at the University of South Florida. Officials from those schools did not immediately respond to requests for comment.