- Hundreds arrested at US universities amid ongoing Gaza conflict protests
- Green Party candidate Jill Stein detained during Washington University protest
- Campuses across the US witness demonstrations, sparking controversies and arrests
Hundreds are detained at universities across the United States in connection with ongoing Gaza protests.
On Saturday, hundreds more individuals were detained on college campuses throughout the United States in response to student demonstrations against the Gaza conflict.
Jill Stein, a presidential candidate for the Green Party, was among those detained by police.
Protesters are demanding that institutions boycott Israeli-affiliated businesses and individuals.
However, certain Jewish students have lodged complaints regarding certain demonstrators’ purported antisemitism.
A Ms. Stein spokesperson stated that she was among the approximately eighty individuals who were apprehended at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. The Green Party presidential candidate is not believed to be facing charges at this time, according to the spokesperson.
California State Polytechnic was the most recent institution to declare its transition to remote instruction. Due to the protests, both in-person instruction and commencement ceremonies have been delayed.
On April 17, tents first appeared on the college green at Columbia. More than a hundred students were arrested as police in riot gear were dispatched to remove the tents, sparking nationwide demonstrations. Students erected a second protest site at Yale University in Connecticut shortly thereafter.
The Massachusetts State Police arrested more than one hundred demonstrators for trespassing on Saturday at Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts, after they refused to remove their tents from college property, according to a police statement. Police have removed the camp.
On X, Northeastern University stated that “professional organisers with no affiliation to the university had infiltrated the demonstrations.” It further stated that antiseptic remarks had been audible and that “this type of hatred cannot be tolerated on campus.” Leaders of the protests vehemently denied the accusations.
Days following the deployment of police to disperse a protest in Alumni Park, pro-Palestinian protesters re-entered the University of South California campus. Although the protest was reportedly mostly nonviolent, the university administration documented instances of “vandalism” to campus property after the events of Saturday.
Vandalism of the campus, including damage to a fountain and statue, was attributed to “individuals who are members of the group that has continued to illegally camp on our campus,” according to the university. Non-residents will be required to temporarily vacate the campus, the university announced.
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On Saturday, twenty-three individuals were apprehended at Indiana University.
According to reports, other campuses, such as Emory University in Georgia and Columbia, were subdued on Saturday.
The Israeli offensive in Gaza, which has claimed the lives of over 34,000 Palestinians, the majority of whom were civilians, according to the health ministry operated by Hamas, ignited the protests.
Approximately 1,200 Israelis and foreigners, the majority of whom were civilians, were slain and 253 others were taken as hostages when Hamas attacked Israeli communities near Gaza on October 7 of last year. In response, the Israeli military launched the offensive.
