Police arrested pro-Palestinian protesters at Virginia Commonwealth University on Monday night after video shows authorities carrying shields and pepper spray clashing with members of an encampment that refused to leave. Thirteen people, including six students, were arrested, according to the university.
VCU said that the protesters were trespassing and refused orders to leave. Gov. Glenn Youngkin vowed to support law enforcement and university leadership to ensure campuses were safe as protests over the Israel-Hamas war rage at colleges nationwide.
Dozens of protesters gathered outside the Cabell Library to call for a cease-fire and demand the university divest itself from financial ties to Israel, according to WWBT. The encampment included tents and large signs with statements including “free Palestine,” “cease-fire now” and a list of demands, photos show.
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VCU said the demonstrators violated several policies, including by erecting tents and structures, and disrupted campus on the week of final exams, according to a statement.
“VCU respectfully and repeatedly provided opportunities for those individuals involved – many of whom were not students -- to collect their belongings and leave. Those who did not leave were subject to arrest for trespassing,” the statement said.
Police gave four mass warnings to the crowd, and Richmond police declared the protest an unlawful assembly, a VCU spokesperson said in a statement.
Video shows a line of demonstrators holding wooden pallets outside the library, facing a string of officers in helmets holding shields reading police. Police marched in unison toward the protesters, followed by a clash in which police and protesters pushed each other, video shows.
"Individuals who chose not to leave threw objects and used chemical spray on officers. Officers used pepper spray to disperse the crowd. VCU Police report that officers did not use other chemical agents, such as tear gas," the VCU spokesperson said.
People ran away coughing after police used pepper spray, according to WWBT.
Thirteen people were arrested and charged with unlawful assembly and trespassing, according to VCU. The six students who were arrested "will proceed normally through the university’s student conduct process."
Lt. Gov. Winsome Sears said late Monday that students and non-students were arrested, campus maintenance was dismantling tents and crowds were being dispersed.
Sears, in social media posts, went on to say that students and Richmond residents want answers.
“Once the dust settles, I think we will see this was not entirely a peaceful protest,” she said.
University and college officials across the country have been facing off with protesters calling for an end to Israel’s war in Gaza, and tensions are rising on many campuses.
Dozens of protesters at Columbia University took over Hamilton Hall early Tuesday, barricading the entrances and unfurling a Palestinian flag out of a window.
More than 80 people were arrested at Virginia Tech between Sunday and Monday as police tried to clear an encampment.
Virginia’s governor wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, that his administration will “fully support campus, local and state law enforcement and university leadership to keep our campuses safe.”
He accused students and demonstrators who aren’t students of throwing things at law enforcement, disrupting student life and endangering public safety.
At George Washington University in Washington, D.C., protesters took down bike rack-style barriers and refused to leave an encampment. Six days into the demonstration, there are no signs that protesters plan to leave.
“Multiple times, the GWPD and the administration has attempted to sweep our campus and we’ve successfully managed to prevent that from happening because of our community mobilization,” one demonstrator said.
GW has made it clear that they want protesters to leave University Yard, but it’s unclear what will happen if demonstrators continue to refuse to leave.
