PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Police arrested dozens of protesters early Friday morning and dismantled the Palestinian solidarity encampment that had been set up in the middle of the University of Pennsylvania’s campus for the last two weeks.
Philadelphia police, Penn police and highway patrol officers — armed in riot gear — started moving in on the encampment between 5:30 and 6 a.m. Penn students received an alert at 5:58 a.m. asking them to avoid the area of College Green due to police activity.
When police arrived, they announced over a bullhorn that the protesters had two minutes to break down their camp and leave.
Some ran off with their belongings. Many stayed and moved to the Ben Franklin statue, linking arms and singing.
Through chants, dozens of protesters were handcuffed and removed from the encampment one by one. Some protesters walked out with police while others passively resisted arrest and had to be carried out.
No violence was reported.
Penn issued a statement around 8:45 a.m.: “At approximately 5:30am this morning, Penn Police, with support from the Philadelphia Police Department, took steps to remove the unauthorized encampment on College Green. Protestors were given multiple warnings that they were trespassing and offered the opportunity to voluntarily leave and avoid citation. Those who chose to stay did so knowing that they would be arrested and removed. Approximately 33 individuals were arrested without incident and cited for defiant trespass."
Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner confirmed that the 33 protesters were cited with defiant trespass, but he said it is not a criminal charge and will not show up on their records.
Once all the protesters were cleared from College Green, Penn crews tossed the tents, canopies, signs, flags and other items into trash trucks.
Secondary protest erupts
As police arrested the last of the encampment protesters, a group of other protesters linked arms in an attempt to block police vehicles from leaving.
“We did not want our students to be arrested, and we were trying to take whatever measure available to us to prevent that,” said Dagmari Woubshet, a professor of English at Penn.
When he and other faculty members learned police were breaking down the encampment, they rushed over. However, the area was quickly shut down by police. Woubshet and four other faculty then sat at the corner of Walnut and 34th streets, blocking police vans with students inside.
“We tried to go near the encampment so we can stand by our students and also observe what was taking place,” said Woubshet. “The entire university is surrounded and we couldn’t get access to the encampment. We wanted to be in solidarity with our students who are being punished in this extreme, punitive way for engaging in a peaceful demonstration, engaging in acts protected by their First Amendment.”
Police created a cordon from the encampment down to the brick walkway and street corner, and they were able to push the sitting protesters out of the way so the vehicles could get through.
The students inside the vans banged on the walls as faculty chanted in support of the students and the people of Gaza. Dozens more faculty gathered, chanting, “We see you, we love you, we will not forget you.”
Forced to move to the street corner, faculty continued their protest there. They were released without charges.
Students placed on leave
Six Penn students participating in the encampment were placed on mandatory temporary leaves of absence Thursday evening, pending the results of an investigation.
University administrators have consistently said the encampment is a violation of university policies and has led to harassment and threats between organizers and others. People in the encampment, as well as counter-protesters, have claimed instances of harassment.
Jewish students, faculty and alumni delivered a petition with 3,000 signatures to interim President Larry Jameson on May 2, urging him to take action. Since then, negotiations have taken place between officials and organizers without a resolution.
Jewish students and counter-protesters have claimed instances of harassment and intimidation from those in the encampment, as well as antisemitic chants and vandalism.
Gov. Josh Shapiro addressed the encampment at an event outside Pittsburgh on Thursday, saying the situation had gotten out of control.
“All students should feel safe when they're on campus. All students have a legal right to feel safe on campus. And the University of Pennsylvania has an obligation to their safety. It is past time for the university to act, to address this, to disband the encampment, and to ensure order and safety on campus,” he said.
Officials speak on encampment breakdown
Joint statement from Mayor Cherelle Parker, Chief Public Safety Director Adam Geer and City Solicitor Renee Garcia:
“Today, the Philadelphia Police Department assisted at the request of the Penn Police in clearing an encampment on the University’s campus. Specifically, Penn Police arrested 33 individuals for the charge of defiant trespass and handed the arrestees off to Philadelphia Police, who processed the arrestees at another location and issued Code Violation Notices. The Sheriff’s Office also assisted in providing buses for transport. Thankfully, no one was injured during the encampment clearing.
“Penn first requested general assistance from the Parker Administration on Wednesday, May 1. From that day on, we were clear throughout that process that Philadelphia Police would provide backup assistance if arrests were made, or if the situation became dangerous or violent. We were also clear that we expected Penn to explore every option to resolve this matter peacefully.
“To that end, Mayor Parker made available her Chief of Public Safety Adam Geer and City Solicitor Renee Garcia, and worked with District Attorney Larry Krasner to assist in this effort. These public officials made numerous outreach efforts to both the students and the administration, offering to join the negotiations, to speak to the students separately, and to make connections to neutral third parties who we believed could bring the parties together.
“At the same time, to ensure safety in the event an agreement was not reached, Philadelphia Police offered and subsequently provided Civil Disorder Training to Penn Police over the course of three days this week. As is now clear, an agreement was not reached, and the University made the decision to clear the encampment. As such, Penn called, asked for assistance, and Philadelphia Police fulfilled its commitment to provide support. We are thankful that the clearing occurred without violence and express our deep gratitude to the men and women of our Police Department, who provided around the clock assistance to Penn over the last several weeks.”
Statement from the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia:
“The Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia commends the University of Pennsylvania for taking decisive action to disband the pro-Palestinian encampment on University of Pennsylvania’s campus this morning. While free speech and critical thinking are essential tenets both on and off college campuses, it had become increasingly clear over the past two weeks that the encampment fostered an atmosphere of intimidation and harassment, particularly towards Jews on campus. At a time when antisemitism is at an all-time high, institutions of higher education have a responsibility to ensure that the safety and well-being of Jewish students and faculty is protected. We thank Governor Shapiro, Mayor Parker, the Philadelphia Police Department, and the University of Pennsylvania Police Department for their help in resolving this issue so campus safety and inclusion can be prioritized.”
Statement from City Councilmember Jamie Gauthier and state Rep. Rick Krajewski:
“We are disappointed that riot police dismantled a peaceful student-led protest this morning. From the start, we advocated for a negotiated, nonviolent resolution. Sending a large militarized police force against students and faculty is an inappropriate and deeply concerning response. We are glad that the City only plans to issue CVNs to those arrested, and urge that Penn not escalate this situation further by disciplining their students and faculty. Throughout time, Philadelphians have used peaceful protests to express their beliefs and fight for change, and we will always defend our constituents’ First Amendment rights.”
Statement from Gov. Josh Shapiro spokesperson Manuel Bonder:
“As Governor Shapiro has made clear multiple times, all Pennsylvanians have a right to peacefully protest and make their voices heard. The Governor has also made clear that universities have a legal responsibility to keep their students safe and free from discrimination. Unfortunately, the situation at Penn reached an untenable point – and as the University stated publicly, the encampment was in violation of university policy, campus was being disrupted, and threatening, discriminatory speech and behavior were increasing. After Penn’s weeks-long efforts to engage protestors were met with further escalation, today, the University of Pennsylvania’s leadership made the right decision to dismantle the encampment. We thank the City of Philadelphia, the Philadelphia Police Department, and University of Pennsylvania Police Department for their professional work to resolve the situation quickly and peacefully.”
Statement from Dr. Ahmet Tekelioglu, executive director of CAIR-Philadelphia:
“Gov. Shapiro once again displayed his anti-Palestinian bias by calling on violence against peaceful protestors when local politicians and clergy had urged and worked towards a facilitated negotiation process between the students and Penn Administration. University of Pennsylvania should be ashamed of yet another example of its disregard for its own community’s demands and well-being. We stand in solidarity with these courageous peaceful protestors.”
Democratic U.S. Sen. Bob Casey:
“When a protest begins to affect the ability of others to get to class or, in this case, with an impending graduation, it begins to infringe upon others’ rights. Those who were protesting had plenty of opportunities to express their point of view, but at some point, it has to end. You can’t just take over a campus,” Casey said at the Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History, where he announced a $250,000 grant to develop a program to educate students about the history and impact of antisemitism.
He did not label the Penn encampment as antisemitic but said some of the protests crossed the line.
“It’s one thing to have a protest about how a military campaign is conducted. You can criticize that, but that’s a lot different from what you’ve heard in some of these protests.”