On October 21, the University of Minnesota Police Department (UMPD) with assistance from local police detained 15 people—including press—concerning an occupation-style protest conducted by the UM Divestment Coalition (UMDC).
- 11 of the detained were identified as protestors and arrested. They are being held without bail on preliminary charges including rioting, trespassing, property damage and assault.
- Several hours later, the remaining 4 detainees were identified as reporters and released. All 4 were wearing labeled press vests.
- Tyler Church, a reporter with the student-led Minnesota Daily had his notes and computer confiscated indefinitely by campus cops.
As was done in the past by UMDC, the politically diverse coalition quickly resumed organizing, holding a protest the next day on behalf of their imprisoned fellows.
“If we want to get the whole tomato, then we have to get a mass movement,” Isabel Eguizabal, a UMDC participant, told the Minnesota Daily.
Samsit Rahman, another participant in the UMDC dismissed any potential disciplinary actions as “incomparable compared to the situation in Gaza.”
Zooming Out: In July, The NY Times reported that 3,100 arrests had been made over 4 months concerning the pro-Palestinian campus movement, with many charges failing to stick.
- Nationwide, contrived rules restricting megaphones, crowd sizes, sign dimensions and the like have been unveiled in response. Many seemingly arbitrary rules are thwarted or completely flaunted by pro-Palestine protestors.
In the Headlines: At Swarthmore college in Pennsylvania, 11 students were accused of assault by Swarthmore administrators for using a bullhorn during an anti-Israel protest.
- Bullhorns are also restricted by the University of Minnesota.
- Disciplinary actions have increased fivefold the average at Swarthmore, with the vast majority of the increase directed at anti-Israel protestors.
- Despite the crackdown, anti-Israel protests have been conducted at IU as recently as October 10.
