Yale University police arrested over 40 pro-Palestinian protesters Monday morning for trespassing after hundreds of demonstrators blocked multiple intersections around campus, according to the Yale Daily News.
The protesters had been gathering over the weekend, with some camping in tents on campus, to demand Yale divest from weapons manufacturers with ties to Israel, according to the Yale Daily News. Yale Police Chief Anthony Campbell confirmed that nearly 45 protesters have been arrested and charged with trespassing after being given multiple warnings to stay off of Beinecke Plaza. (RELATED: Columbia University Shifts Classes Online After Pro-Palestinian Protest Takes Over Campus)
One Yale police officer said that police had no intention of arresting more protesters blocking a major intersection, according to the Yale Daily News. A spokesperson for the university said that the arrested students will face potential disciplinary action, including a formal reprimand, probation or possible suspension.
“The university made the decision to arrest those individuals who would not leave the Plaza with the safety and security of the entire Yale community in mind and to allow access to university facilities by all members of our community,” the Yale spokesperson said in a statement to the Yale Daily News.
The more than 300 protesters continue to block the intersection. There were more than 40 officers on the scene; they have now almost all entered the Schwarzman Center rotunda and are not allowing students inside. pic.twitter.com/DcS22fqqrs
— Yale Daily News (@yaledailynews) April 22, 2024
The protest is regarding a proposal from Yale students demanding that the university expand its divestment policy “to cover all gun manufacturers.”
Yale university released an announcement stating that the university, however, determined that “military weapons manufacturing” does not meet Yale’s “criteria for divestment.”
“The Advisory Committee on Investor Responsibility (ACIR) separately took up the issue of divestment from military weapons manufacturing after hearing student presentations at its annual open meeting late last fall,” the statement reads. “In its deliberations, the ACIR considered weapons manufacturing for use by military and law enforcement for authorized purposes. Given these uses, the ACIR concluded that military weapons manufacturing for authorized sales did not meet the threshold of grave social injury, a prerequisite for divestment, because this manufacturing supports socially necessary uses, such as law enforcement and national security.”
In response, the students organized a protest over the weekend to block major intersections around the school in an attempt to persuade the university to reconsider, according to the Yale Daily News. The university spokesperson said in its statement Monday that they had attempted to speak with students Sunday, offering to set up a meeting with the board of trustees and the chair of the Corporation Committee on Investor Responsibility but the protesters refused.
Campbell also said that over 50 officers were present at the protest and did not elaborate on where the arrested protesters would be processed, according to the Yale Daily News. Protesters were reportedly shouting “YPD or KKK, IDF they’re all the same,” “Arab blood is not cheap, for the martyrs we will speak” and “Free free Palestine, free free free Palestine” after the arrests began.
University maintenance teams also began clearing the area of signs and banners after the arrests began, according to the Yale Daily News.
Yale did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
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