Police, decked out in riot gear, confronted pro-Palestinian protesters who gathered at Denver's Auraria Campus for a second day on Friday, arresting anyone who had not cleared the area by 12:45 p.m.
Chants of “Long live Palestine” and “free Palestine” continued to fill the Tivoli Quad just before 2:30 p.m. even as police handcuffed the protesters, removed them from the scene and loaded them onto Denver Sheriff's Department buses.
“If you push me one more time, you're going to jail,” a Denver police officer is heard saying the assembled students tell in a video while other officers carried a protester off the quad by her arms and legs.
— Katie Langford (@Katielangford35) April 26, 2024
The Auraria Campus – home to the University of Colorado Denver, Metropolitan State University of Denver and Community College of Denver – sent a warning first to avoid the Tivoli Quad “due to civil unrest” Friday at 12:30 p.m. As of 2:30 p.m., all incoming traffic to campus remained closed.
“If you don't disperse, every one of you will be arrested and prosecuted,” police officers can be heard telling protesters in one video posted by the Colorado Palestine Coalition on Instagram Friday afternoon. “If you remain, reasonable and necessary force will be used to remove you”
The protest began Thursday when students pitched more than a dozen tents and brought food and water to the Tivoli Quad, vowing to remain at the camp until CU officials meet their demand that the university divest from operations and funding related to Israel.
“We fully support the right of students to peacefully assemble,” said an Auraria spokesperson wrote in a statement on Friday. “Nevertheless, it is essential to note that Auraria Campus policy prohibits camping on the premises due to health, safety and security concerns. Participants set up an encampment and were repeatedly told they were not adhering to the policy.”
The events unfolding on the Auraria Campus on Friday are part of a wave of campus protests inspired by students from Columbia University – the first group to set up camps in protest against Israel's war with Hamas.
Protests had been bubbling in Columbia for months but accelerated after more than a hundred pro-Palestinian demonstrators encamped on the university's upper Manhattan campus were arrested. arrested last week.
Since then, dozens more protesters have been arrested on other campuses, and many are now charged with trespassing or disorderly conduct. In Connecticut, police arrested 48 Yale University protesters on Monday after they refused to leave an encampment in a square in the middle of campus.
Earlier this week, a demonstration at the University of Michigan's campus center grew to nearly 40 tents, and nine anti-war protesters were arrested after police tore down an encampment in front of the library. Hundreds gathered on Minnesota's campus in the afternoon to demand their release.
After a tent camp showed up at Indiana University Bloomington on Thursday, police pressed into demonstrators with shields and batons and arrested 34 people. Hours later, police at the University of Connecticut tore down tents and arrested one person.
And at Ohio State University, police clashed with protesters just hours after gathering Thursday night. Those who refused to leave after warnings were arrested and charged with criminal trespass, university spokesman Benjamin Johnson said, citing rules banning nighttime events. He said a preliminary report showed there were 36 arrests, including 16 students and 20 people not affiliated with the university.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
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