PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Nearly 20 people, including six University of Pennsylvania students, were arrested Friday night as pro-Palestinian protesters attempted to occupy Fisher-Bennett Hall at the corner of 34th and Walnut streets.
Around 9 p.m., Penn’s Division of Public Safety issued an alert, saying there was a “large, disruptive crowd” near that area with a heavy police presence.
Officials eventually dispersed the crowd and secured the building. According to DPS, they found lock-picking tools, homemade metal shields, and exit doors “secured with zip-ties, barbed wire, and barricaded with metal chairs and desks.”
DPS says about 12 protesters were issued citations for not leaving and failing to follow police commands — they were later released. Seven people are in custody pending felony charges.
As the crowd dispersed, about 100 protesters met along 34th Street where they chanted things like “Equal power” and “We are all Palestinians.”
At one point, officers issued a warning via loudspeaker to the protesters, which sent many fleeing toward the Penn Museum.
Last week, 33 people, including nine Penn students, were arrested after a Palestinian solidarity encampment in the heart of campus was dismantled. Hours later, demonstrators marched to Interim President Larry Jameson’s house.
People were seen jumping the fence and banging on his front door — one person lit a flare on his property.
Demonstrators then marched to 33rd and Market streets, blocking the intersection as they chanted.
Penn’s graduation is Monday at Franklin Field.