Early Tuesday morning, University of Michigan law enforcement removed the Gaza solidarity encampment from the Diag, arresting four protesters and detaining them at Washtenaw County Jail. A few hours later, a small group of about 20 protesters outside of the jail quickly grew to more than 100 as residents of the recently swept encampment, U-M students and community members came to show their support for the protesters arrested during the police raid.
Some protesters chanted in circles in front of the building while others sat in the shade under umbrellas and trees. Volunteers provided sunscreen, food and bottled water to protesters. At around 11 a.m., leaders from Students Allied for Freedom and Equality, an organizer of the encampment, announced that the protesters intended to remain outside of the sheriff’s office until those detained during the raid were released.
In an interview with The Michigan Daily, SAFE board member Zainab Hakim said protesters came to the sheriff’s office in order to stand in solidarity with those who were arrested Tuesday morning at the encampment.
“Our intention from the very beginning was that we’re going to stay until divestment, or we’re going to do our best to stay until divestment,” Hakim said. “This morning, the police raided us and were physically violent against a lot of students … A few of our friends were arrested. We are moving here, and we are staying here until they’re out and they’re safe.”
Four students were arrested during the clearing of the encampment. Melissa Overton, Deputy Chief of Police for Division of Public Safety and Security, said in an email to The Daily that officers gave a verbal warning to protesters in the encampment, before beginning to make arrests and remove equipment.
“This morning, just before 6 a.m., university law enforcement began clearing the encampment on the Central Campus Diag at the University of Michigan,” Overton wrote. “Officers issued three verbal warnings over a 15-minute period, asking the approximately 50 people who were in the encampment to leave voluntarily before being subject to arrest. There were four arrests.”
In an email to The Daily, University spokesperson Colleen Mastony said the University remains committed to the rights of students to participate in peaceful protests but emphasized the importance of following the law and University policies.
“The disregard for safety directives was the latest in a series of troubling events centered on the encampment,” Mastony said. “Individuals will continue to be welcome to protest as they always have at the University of Michigan, so long as those protests do not infringe on the rights of others, endanger our community, violate the law or disrupt university operations.”
At approximately 12:30 p.m., organizers who had been communicating with law enforcement announced that those in custody would be released within the next hour. After this announcement, protesters erupted in joy, resuming their chanting.
Saba Saed, a Palestinian Michigan State student, attended the protest in support of the encampment and releasing those arrested. Saed said she greatly appreciated seeing how many people came together after the events of the morning.
“I am here to show solidarity with those who took the initiative and courage to stand up for my people,” Saed said. “It means everything and more. I mean, there is nothing more important than the human connection, and as Palestinians, we are stripped away from all of our human rights, so all we have left is our humanity and how we extend it to others.”
The four detainees were officially released from custody at about 1:30 p.m., prompting cheering and chanting from the crowd. In an interview with The Daily after protesters were released, SAFE president Salma Hamamy said the removal of the encampment is not the end of SAFE’s activism on campus.
“We’re going to continue to defend the people who have charges,” Hamamy said. “We also have dozens of students facing disciplinary repercussions, including myself as of right now. So we’re going to continue fighting for those individuals, of course centering Gaza the entire way through. The movement is not just about an encampment or about our charges, it is about Palestinian liberation and Gaza being free from an apartheid regime and a genocide.”
Even though the encampment no longer occupies the Diag, Salma said the sense of community it has given to the pro-Palestine movement on campus will continue on.
“Clearly the spirit of the encampment lives on,” Hamamy said. “The spirit of the encampment was present here, it’s going to be present tomorrow at the arraignment and it’s going to be present in every single action that we take moving forward.”
Summer Managing Editor Mary Corey can be reached at mcorey@umich.edu.
The post Pro-Palestine protesters demonstrate in front of Washtenaw County Jail following encampment sweep and arrests appeared first on The Michigan Daily.
Leave a Reply