Police arrest pro-Palestinian protesters, break up gathering on ASU campus
Police arrested several protesters calling for a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war before a day of demonstrations ended at Arizona State University's Tempe campus.
The protesters had planned to camp overnight, although the university had made it clear that encampments were prohibited on campus. Shortly after Friday turned to Saturday, officers moved in.
"Those who do not immediately leave will be arrested," came an officer's command over a loudspeaker.
About 1 a.m., about 50 people remained on the Alumni Lawn in front of Old Main near College Avenue and University Drive.
Shortly before 2 a.m., all the protesters either had dispersed or had been arrested. Alumni Lawn had been barricaded off.
Officers with the Arizona Department of Public Safety and the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office assisted ASU police.
A handful of arrests were made Friday morning as well. The event kicked off about 8:45 a.m. as ASU students and demonstrators filed into Alumni Lawn by the dozens, waving Palestinian flags and signs. They called for an official statement from the university condemning the violence in the Gaza Strip.
Another 69 people were arrested early Saturday on criminal trespassing charges after a group's encampment went on past 11 p.m. and participants refused to leave following multiple warnings, according to an ASU spokesperson.
The spokesperson referenced university policy about encampments being prohibited on university property with "lawful demonstrations" allowed except between 11 p.m.-5 a.m. Most in this gathering were not ASU students, faculty or staff, according to the spokesperson.
"While the university will continue to be an environment that embraces freedom of speech, ASU’s first priority is to create a safe and secure environment that supports teaching and learning," read a statement from ASU.
The group quickly and quietly constructed a Gaza solidarity camp, one of many in a growing movement across the nation this week. The encampment featured more than a dozen tents and shade structures.
Protesters included a mix of current and former ASU students, community activist organizations and leaders. Throughout the Friday evening, they were surrounded by college police on each side of the Alumni Lawn.
More about it: Pro-Palestinian protesters arrested at ASU earlier in the day
More than a hundred protesters sat on the grass. Dozens of tents were clustered in the center of the gathering, featuring clearly labeled stations for food and first aid. Stacks of bottled water lined the spaces between people.
Counterprotesters supporting Israel had been seen in the area earlier but were gone by 9:30 p.m.
'It's very important for me to be here'
Jeanine Sabbah, a junior at ASU, gathered on the Alumni Lawn next to the tent she planned to stay in overnight. She said she had family who lived in the West Bank.
"Because they don't have the kind of voice I have, it's very important for me to be here, especially since we're giving taxpayer dollars to the Israeli government and the IDF," Sabbah said.
Above all, she said she was worried about the safety of her family and of others still in the Gaza Strip, highlighting that her fellow protesters were calling for a peaceful cease-fire.
"ASU hasn't really made any big statements about things, and that's really unfair in my eyes, because America is so involved," Sabbah said.
Sabbah reflected on feeling unsupported by her professors who refused to allow her class to discuss the Israel-Hamas war after the Oct. 7 attack.
"We'll probably be doing a lot of chants tonight. It's just all about bringing attention to the issue," Sabbah said.
Sabbah mentioned that she was an experienced camper, so the idea of sleeping outside in a tent didn't bother her.
Mya Vallejo graduated from ASU and intended to stay on the Alumni Lawn as long as she could into Friday night.
She had helped set up food and first aid stations underneath canopies near the center of the Alumni Lawn.
"What's going on is incredibly unacceptable, and the more people who see it on this main big road and reckon with what's happening, that's a good thing," Vallejo said.
Vallejo, a graduate student at ASU, felt a deep bond with her alma mater and the undergraduate students who dedicated their time to protest for what they believed in. She said she would contemplate taking the next day off work to continue participating in the protest.
'Convictions if they're strong, don't change'
Alexia Isais spoke to the circle gathering at the center of the protesters on the lawn, sharing her 2020 journey of being fired from ASU's student paper, The State Press, after posts that were critical of police.
"Convictions if they're strong, don't change, and if you believe in Palestine, you'll believe in Palestine your whole life," Isais said.
"I can't be silenced, and no one here can be silenced," said Isais, who handed out information flyers to new attendees.
Mohammad Riyad, Palestinian American Community Center president, joined the protesters, condemning the war and calling for a "Free Gaza."
"We are out here tonight to support the students and to tell them that we stand by them," Riyad said. "We believe what they are doing is a great thing, they are speaking their views about the injustice, and for a cease-fire to end the war."
The activist emphasized the importance of taking seriously the protesters' claims that ASU supports Israel.
"I think any claims of that sort need to be fully investigated," Riyad said. "If it turns out our academic institutions support or are involved in any way supporting an entity or a country that commits war crimes, then that needs to be stopped immediately."
Protester says police chief pushed her down
Police hadn't always remained calm during the daylight hours of the protest, according to eyewitnesses.
In video obtained by The Arizona Republic, Mary Fayad can be seen on the ground after a man yelled and pushed a group of protesters away from him.
She said it was ASU police Chief Michael Thompson.
"I am a Palestinian, I was assaulted by an officer today," Fayad said.
Thompson's office and the ASU police's public affairs office did not immediately respond to The Arizona Republic's request for a response.
The Republic reporter Jose R. Gonzalez contributed to this article.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Students, community members protest war in Gaza at ASU's Tempe campus