April 25, 2024 - US university protests

Our live coverage of the pro-Palestinian protests on US campuses has moved here.

Negotiations between Columbia University administrators and pro-Palestinian protesters who’ve been occupying a campus lawn with a sprawling encampment “have shown progress and are continuing as planned,” the school said in a statement late Thursday.

“For several days, a small group of faculty, administrators, and University Senators have been in dialogue with student organizers to discuss the basis for dismantling the encampment, dispersing, and following University policies going forward,” the university said.

“We have our demands; they have theirs.”

The university also denied rumors that the NYPD had been called to campus, calling them “false.”

Some context: Columbia announced late Tuesday that it had given protesters a midnight deadline to agree to dismantle their encampment. But the university then said early Wednesday that it had extended the talks for another 48 hours. If no agreement is reached, the school has said it will consider “alternative options,” which many protesters have interpreted to mean calling in police to clear the site.

A wave of pro-Palestinian campus protests is rippling across the US, with hundreds of people arrested at universities throughout the country this week.

At New York’s Columbia University, the epicenter of the demonstrations, protesting students said they won’t disperse until the school agrees to cut ties with Israeli academic institutions and disinvest its funds from entities connected to Israel, among other demands. Protesters at other campuses have similar demands.

The campus encampments spreading across the nation have brought together students from a variety of backgrounds — including Palestinians, Arabs, Jews and Muslims — to decry Israel’s bombardment of Gaza.

Here are the latest developments:

Columbia University: The faculty senate is expected to vote on a resolution admonishing the school’s president, Minouche Shafik, on Friday over several of her decisions, according to The New York Times. Shafik has faced criticism for authorizing police to shut down student protests on campus.

Brown University: The university identified about 130 students who it alleges violated a school conduct code that forbids encampments on campus. Students found responsible will be disciplined depending on their behavior and other factors, including any prior conduct violations, the university said.

Emory University: 28 people were arrested, including 20 Emory community members, during a protest at the school, Vice President for Public Safety Cheryl Elliott said. Troopers deployed pepper balls “to control the unruly crowd” during the protest, Georgie State Patrol said. A group of Democratic Georgia state lawmakers condemned the “excessive force used by Georgia State Patrol” during arrests at Emory.

Emerson College: More than 100 people were arrested and four police officers injured during an encampment clearing at the Boston liberal arts college, according to the Boston Police Department. President Jay Bernhardt said he recognized and respected “the civic activism and passion that sparked the protest” after dozens of arrests.

Indiana University: At least 33 people were detained on campus Thursday following encampment protests.

George Washington University: DC Metropolitan Police were asked to assist in relocating an “unauthorized protest encampment” on campus, university president Ellen M. Granberg said. The decision came “after multiple instructions made by GWPD to relocate to an alternative demonstration site on campus went unheeded by encampment participants,” she said.

University of Southern California: The university canceled its main commencement ceremony next month, citing “new safety measures in place.” Nearly 100 people have been arrested on the campus.

University of California, Los Angeles: A “demonstration with encampments” formed at UCLA on Thursday.

Northeastern University: An encampment formed at Northeastern University in Boston, where dozens of protesters were seen forming a human chain around several tents. 

Other campuses: Since last Thursday, several campuses have been protest sites, including the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of Texas at Austin, University of Michigan, University of New Mexico, University of California, Berkeley, Yale University, and Harvard University.

Protesters at the University of Texas at Austin were asked to leave the campus’s South Mall at 10 p.m. local time, university spokesperson Brian Davis told CNN.

No arrests have been made as of 10 p.m., Davis said.

“There is no curfew on campus. Leadership asked that students clear the South Mall at 10 p.m.”

Just last night, more than 30 demonstrators were arrested after UT Austin police issued a dispersal at the school.

Demonstrators at Ohio State University were arrested on Thursday night after refusing to disperse, according to university spokesperson Benjamin Johnson.

Johnson did not know how many arrests were made.

“Well established university rules prohibit camping and overnight events. Demonstrators exercised their first amendment rights for several hours and were then instructed to disperse. Individuals who refused to leave after multiple warnings were arrested and charged with criminal trespass,” he said.

Columbia University’s faculty senate is expected to vote Friday on a resolution admonishing embattled school president Minouche Shafik over several of her recent decisions, including calling in police to clear a student encampment last week, the New York Times reports.

The resolution would allow the school senate to avoid a censure vote during a critical time for the school, the Times reports, citing several unnamed senators who attended a closed-door meeting Wednesday. Some feared a censure vote would be perceived as giving in to Republican lawmakers, according to the paper.

A Columbia University spokesperson confirmed Shafik’s closed-door meeting with the senate on Wednesday but would not comment on the resolution to CNN.

 “The President met with the Senate plenary in a closed-door session for close to an hour, giving remarks and taking questions. She reiterated the shared goal of restoring calm to campus so everyone can pursue their educational activities.” 

Some context: Shafik has faced immense criticism from some students, faculty and Democratic lawmakers for her decision to authorize police to break up pro-Palestinian student protests last week— a move that resulted in more than 100 arrests.

Other students, Jewish advocacy groups and Republican lawmakers are slamming Shafik for not cracking down on protests — which they say have included antisemitic rhetoric — both on campus and outside its gates.

Several Republicans, including House Speaker Mike Johnson, have called for Shafik to resign.

CNN’s Maria Sole Campinoti contributed to this report.

Colleges across the country have erupted with pro-Palestinian protests, and school administrators are trying — and largely failing — to defuse the situation.

Several schools have called the police on protesters, leading to the arrests of hundreds across US campuses.

The recent surge in protests have inflamed tensions among students, forcing leadership to decide when free speech on campus crosses a line. The atmosphere was so charged that officials at Columbia – the epicenter of the protests that began last week – announced students can attend classes virtually starting Monday.

Passover, a major Jewish holiday, began this week, heightening fears among a number of Jewish students who have reported hearing antisemitic comments at some of the protests. The anxiety comes as reports of antisemitic acts have surged across America since October 7.

When did the protests start?

The situation escalated last week at Columbia University, where encampments were organized by Columbia University Apartheid Divest, a student-led coalition of more than 100 organizations, including Students for Justice in Palestine and Jewish Voice for Peace, to protest what they describe as the university’s “continued financial investment in corporations that profit from Israeli apartheid, genocide, and military occupation of Palestine,” according to its news release.

What are they asking for?

Columbia protesters say they won’t disperse until the school commits to a “complete divestment” of its funds from entities connected to Israel.

Other protesters are similarly calling on their campuses to divest from companies that sell weapons, construction equipment, technology services and other items to Israel.

Where else are protests happening?

Since last Thursday, a slew of campuses have had protests and encampments, as well as arrests. That includes the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of Texas at Austin, University of Michigan, University of New Mexico and University of California, Berkeley.

Police arrested nearly 100 protesters at the University of Southern California Wednesday after a dispersal order.

At Emerson College, more than 100 people were arrested Wednesday during a pro-Palestinian protest, according to the Boston Police Department.

Yale University police arrested at least 45 protesters Monday on suspicion of criminal trespassing, though dozens remained Tuesday.

Harvard University officials suspended a pro-Palestinian student organization for allegedly violating school policies.

Read more here.

Brown University has identified about 130 students who it alleges violated a school conduct code that forbids encampments on campus, a university spokesperson said.

The university’s Office of Student Conduct and Community Standards has notified the students, who were identified through ID checks, spokesperson Brian Clark said in a release.

An encampment of about 90 people had formed on the school’s Providence, Rhode Island campus Wednesday morning, according to Brown.

“Encampment on Brown University’s historic and residential greens is a violation of University policy, and participants in the encampment have been verbally informed of this fact and that they will face conduct proceedings,” the school’s release said.

Students found responsible will be disciplined depending on their behavior and other factors, including any prior conduct violations, the university said, noting students could face probation or separation from the school.

“The University continues to ask individuals in or in immediate proximity to the encampment to present their Brown IDs for two reasons: to verify association with Brown for safety and security reasons, and to appropriately address potential violations of policy.”

Protesters briefly clashed with police at Emory University in Georgia on Thursday, the university told CNN.

A confrontation between protesters and police outside the school’s Candler School of Theology prompted an “increased law enforcement presence” on campus, according to the university.

“A group of about 100 people left the Quad and marched to the Candler School of Theology, where some protesters pinned police officers against building doors and attempted to access the building,” the university said.

“The crowd ultimately returned to the Quad before dispersing.”

Video from CNN affiliate WSB shows some protesters using large posters to push into a line of police officers whose backs are against the doors of the building. As officers push back against the posters, one demonstrator chucks their sign at the row of officers.

In a message sent to the Emory community, Vice President for Public Safety Cheryl Elliott said 28 people were arrested, including 20 Emory community members, during a protest at the school on Thursday. 

“At 7:41 a.m. a few dozen protestors arrived on campus. When they arrived, these individuals ignored and pushed past EPD officers stationed on the Quad and set up tents in an area where equipment and materials were staged for Commencement,” Elliott said in her message. 

Elliott said that multiple dispersal orders were issued to the encampment telling them to leave because they were trespassing.  

“When those requests were ignored, Atlanta Police and Georgia State Patrol officers assisted EPD with dispersing the crowd and taking individuals into custody for criminal trespass,” she added. 

In a release, Georgia State Patrol (GSP) said they deployed a taser on one individual who actively resisted arrest when protesters were throwing bottles at officers and refusing to disperse. Elliott said that person was not a member of the Emory community. 

“During the encampment protest response, Troopers deployed pepper balls to control the unruly crowd but did not use tear gas,” GSP added.

At least 33 people were detained on Indiana University’s campus Thursday following encampment protests.

The Indiana University Police and Indiana State Police warned the individuals protesting “numerous times” on Thursday morning and afternoon to remove their structures and they would be allowed to stay, according to a statement from the Indiana University Police Department.

“Following their refusal to comply with university policy, the group was advised to leave the area,” police said.

Officers gave a final warning at 3:46pm and at 3:57pm individuals who refused were detained and removed from the area.

33 people were taken to the Monroe County Justice Center and police continue to monitor ongoing activity on campus.

“Indiana University Bloomington is a campus where we encourage and respect free speech and open dialogue,” a university spokesperson said in a statement. “To ensure the safety and security of the IU community and to avoid disruption of university operations, expressive activity must be conducted in accordance with university free speech and events policies. This includes the enforcement of policies that require advanced approval for the installation of temporary structures.”

The nuance and history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict remains difficult to capture succinctly, particularly during escalating turmoil among groups with deep-held—and entrenched—views on the issue.

Students inside campus encampments that have spread across the United States over the past week are from a variety of backgrounds – including Palestinians, Arabs, Jews and Muslims, joined by students of other religious and ethnic backgrounds. They hold a spectrum of political and social views too: liberal and heterodox, progressive and absolutist. Many have been motivated by the reports and video coming out of Gaza that is often unbearable to watch. Many of these students see the actions of the Israeli military in Gaza as a continuation of a more than 70-year-long oppression of Palestinian rights, land and culture. Protesters say they want their schools to stand against what they believe is genocide in Gaza.

As antisemitism has surged to record levels since Hamas’ attack on October 7, 2023, many Jews feel Israel requires more support now than ever – as a refuge for Jews, who have long been an oppressed minority. Even if they oppose Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s policies and the country’s actions in Gaza, many Jews believe anti-Israel and anti-Zionist sentiment and even peaceful protest of Israel is itself antisemitic, because the concept of Israel as a Jewish homeland is core to Judaism. And some support the Israeli government’s efforts to crush Hamas in Gaza.

CAIR has reported record incidents of Islamophobia on campus, and the Anti-Defamation League has recorded a historic number of incidents of violence and threats against Jewish students. Some Jewish students have said they were threatened by protesters and encountered antisemitic rhetoric at some of the rallies over the past week, and those concerns were amplified by pro-Israel (and some American) politicians. The White House and multiple governors have voiced support for Jewish students and urged protesters and universities to exercise restraint. 

CNN reporting on the ground has largely described students inside the encampments engaging in activities like poetry readings, painting and completing school assignments. There have also been examples of multi-faith prayers and group dancing. Yet hundreds of protesters have been arrested for trespassing and for violating school rules, including blocking access to campus buildings or other disruptions on campus. The protests and some protesters’ social media posts have made some Jewish students feel unsafe, even as most university administrators have largely resisted taking action against protesters exercising their right to free expression in a unobtrusive, nonviolent manner, as the vast majority of the protests have been. Advocates of the protesters, including some politicians, have criticized the universities’ responses, including the arrests.

Second gentleman Doug Emhoff spoke with a pair of Jewish leaders at Columbia University and Barnard College this week, a White House official said, condemning antisemitism and calls for violence against Jews amid ongoing protests on and around campus.

In calls with Rabbi Elie Buechler, director of the Orthodox Union-JLIC at Columbia and Barnard, and Brian Cohen, Levine Family executive director at Columbia/Barnard Hillel, Emhoff “recognized that while every American has the right to freedom of speech and to protest peacefully, hate speech and calls for violence against Jews is both antisemitic and unacceptable.” 

The conversations, the official added, “also focused on the immediate need to address antisemitism on college campuses.”

Buechler wrote a WhatsApp message to roughly 300 mostly-Orthodox Jewish students on campus that the clashes “have made it clear that Columbia University’s Public Safety and the NYPD cannot guarantee Jewish students’ safety.”

Emhoff has made combating the scourge of antisemitism — which has significantly increased in the US since the Hamas attacks on Israel on October 7 — a key priority of his time as second gentleman. He is the first Jewish spouse of a president or vice president and has used his platform to regularly engage with Jewish leaders around the country. 

The official said that Emhoff “emphasized that no student should feel unsafe on campus and offered his support on behalf of the Administration. He wished them a happy Passover and expressed the importance in finding Jewish joy during this difficult time.”

On Wednesday, Emhoff spoke out about pro-Palestinian protests on college campuses across the country, saying that the escalation of some protests toward antisemitic rhetoric is “just wrong.”

“First of all, we just want students to be safe,” Emhoff said in an interview with Telemundo.

He continued, “When the protests disrupt that, and when protests go beyond simply peaceful expression of a position and it goes into hate, it turns into threats of violence, it turns into calling for Jews to be gassed and Jews to be killed, that’s just wrong. That is antisemitic and it is wrong.”

In an updated statement about the protests, an Emory University spokesperson said several dozen protesters “trespassed” into Emory’s campus on Thursday morning to set up tents on the school’s quad.

“The activists who initially gathered were not recognized as members of our community and were disrupting the university as our students finish classes and prepare for finals,” the statement said.

Members of the Emory community later joined the initial group, according to the spokesperson.

Pro-Palestinian protesters clashed with police at the Georgia university on Thursday. Police used pepper spray and pepper balls to clear the area of demonstrators, a CNN team on the scene reported.

The statement said “a couple dozen people” were taken into custody after the Emory Police Department notified them they were trespassing and the people refused to leave.

CNN previously reported that at least two professors were arrested during the protest, but the university spokesperson declined to share information about exactly how many people were taken into custody and what, if any, charges were filed.

A group of Democratic Georgia state lawmakers on Thursday condemned the “excessive force used by Georgia State Patrol” during arrests at Emory University.

“The use of extreme anti-riot tactics by Georgia State Patrol, including tasers and gas, is a dangerous escalation to protests which were by all accounts peaceful and nonviolent,” according to the statement posted on social media by Georgia state Rep. Ruwa Romman, a Democrat who is also Palestinian.

The group blamed Georgia leaders and said they have created an environment where “state police feel free or perhaps are directed— to respond to normal peaceful protests with violence.”

“We cannot allow this dangerous repression to continue. Regardless of one’s views on this or any other issue, there is no justification for this kind of excessive force,” they continued in the statement. “We call on all state officials to immediately deescalate and prevent further harm to our constituents.”

The ACLU of Georgia also said on Thursday it was concerned about law enforcement’s response to the protests.

“The freedom to protest without retribution is essential to our democracy. Atlanta has historically been a place where citizens could freely exercise their rights to protest, but we have unfortunately seen a series of unconstitutional crackdowns on speech and protest across Georgia in recent years,” the organization said in a statement. “Colleges and universities should be places where viewpoints, expression, debate, and free speech are encouraged, not suppressed.”

Georgia’s attorney general, Chris Carr, weighed in on the pro-Palestinian protests and encampments at Georgia universities like Emory.

“We will proudly stand by any university that takes action to protect the health and safety of Georgia’s students,” Carr said on social media. “Nobody has the legal right to shut down our schools by camping out and making antisemitic threats.”

Carr’s comments come after a clash between protesters and police officers at Emory University in Atlanta. Police used pepper spray and pepper balls to clear the area of demonstrators, a CNN team on the scene reported. At least two professors were also detained during the protests.

Palestine Legal filed a civil rights complaint against Columbia University this week through the US Department of Education, demanding the agency’s Office for Civil Rights investigate the school’s treatment of Palestinian students and allies.

The complaint goes beyond the events of the last week, when NYPD arrested more than 100 protesting students. It alleged that for the past months, “Palestinian students, Arabs, Muslims, students perceived to be Palestinian, and students associated with or advocating for Palestinians” were subject to anti-Arab and anti-Palestinian harassment and Islamophobia.

The complaint represents four students and Columbia’s Students for Justice in Palestine. Palestine Legal said these students received death threats and were “harassed for wearing keffiyehs or hijab, doxed, stereotyped, being treated differently by high-ranking administrators including Columbia University President Minouche Shafik.”

Palestine Legal also said the school has the responsibility to protect its students, including Palestinians and supporters, and should not threaten or call the police or military. Columbia has denied threats to call the National Guard were ever on the table in negotiations with protesters.

“Since October 7th alone, the organization has received reports of over 1,800 incidents, over five times the number we received in all of 2022, reflecting an exponential rise in anti-Palestinian repression across the US,” Palestine Legal said in a press release.

Rallies for Israel and against antisemitism will take place at two universities Thursday night.

Near Emory, a “Passover gathering” will be held at a local Israeli-owned bakery near campus to show that Atlanta is “strong and will not be deterred by antisemitism,” according to an image being circulated around local groups on social media.

According to the Columbia Jewish Alumni Association, there will be a “United for Israel march” outside the university later Thursday. The rally point is outside the gates of the school. The group’s X account called it a “unity march of Christians and Jews.”

The University of Southern California canceled its main commencement ceremony for 2024 graduating students in May, citing “new safety measures in place.”

“We understand that this is disappointing,” the university said in an announcement on its website.

The announcement came days after the university canceled the commencement speech of its Muslim valedictorian, Asna Tabassum, due to what it called security concerns. USC then canceled appearances by prominent speakers and honorees at the May 10 graduation ceremony.

USC’s commencement weekend is scheduled for May 8-11. Its main stage ceremony traditionally brought all 65,000 students and their families together. The university said it would host “new activities and celebrations” to ensure the weekend would still be “meaningful, memorable and uniquely USC.”

Many students in the class of 2024 graduated high school in 2020, meaning they may also have missed out on graduation ceremonies due to Covid-19.

George Washington University president Ellen M. Granberg on Thursday said DC Metropolitan Police were asked to assist in relocating an “unauthorized protest encampment” on campus.

“The encampment, unlike some demonstrations in the past, is an unauthorized use of university space at this location and violated several university policies,” Granberg said in a statement. “The decision to request MPD assistance came after multiple instructions made by GWPD to relocate to an alternative demonstration site on campus went unheeded by encampment participants.”

She said the school will allow George Washington University students “an appropriate place for their protest within the defined limits of free expression” at the school but will not allow students from “other local colleges or unaffiliated individuals to trespass on our campus.”

“We can and will enforce the time, place, and manner restrictions that continue to govern activities on our campus,” she said. 

Granberg also said they will insist that protesters “meet their responsibility to university policies that prohibit the disruption of the normal academic activities of our community – the vast majority of whom are not protesting.”

“Occupying campus grounds, establishing outdoor encampments, and blocking access to buildings create safety concerns and can disrupt learning and study, especially during this critical final exam period,” she said. “Such activities are inconsistent with the university’s mission, values, and commitment to providing a safe environment for all students and employees.”

A State Department spokesperson said Thursday that the Biden administration supports the right to protest peacefully.

“We, of course, support the right of anybody to peacefully protest, to demonstrate, to make their voices heard, to express themselves in a peaceful and nonviolent way,” said State Department spokesperson Vedant Patel at a press briefing.

When asked if the protesters’ voices were reaching Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Patel said, “Absolutely.”

“But we’re also not naive to the fact that when it comes to any of the foreign policy that we pursue, 100% of the population is not going to agree with what we’re trying to accomplish,” said Patel.

Patel added that “harmful rhetoric, rhetoric whether it be rooted in antisemitism, Islamophobia, is incredibly problematic and needs to be condemned and called out.”

Gerald A. Griggs, head of the Georgia NAACP, on Thursday called for a meeting with Emory president Gregory L. Fenves, after pepper spray and pepper balls were used by police on protesters on campus.

“As the president of the @GeorgiaNAACP, given the events that occurred this morning on the campus of @EmoryUniversity & @emorycollege, I am requesting a meeting with the President of the University to discuss the events on the campus as soon as possible,” wrote Griggs, who is also an alumnus of the university, on social media.

An encampment has been formed at Northeastern University in Boston, where dozens of protesters can be seen forming a human chain around several tents. 

Uniformed members of the Northeastern University Police Department and the Boston Police Department are present at what appears to be a peaceful protest.

Students can be heard chanting several protest chants, including “Who do you protect, who do you serve?” “Viva, viva Palestine,” and “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.” Some law enforcement on site are wearing helmets and carrying zip ties.

Several apparent students wearing yarmulkes are in a crowd watching the protesters. 

A “demonstration with encampments” has formed at the University of California, Los Angeles, (UCLA) in Royce Quad, the university said in a campus activity update Thursday. 

Access to Royce Hall and Powell Library are restricted but campus life will continue as usual and “classes will be held as planned,” according to the update. 

“We’re actively monitoring this situation to support a safe and peaceful campus environment that respects our community’s right to free expression while minimizing disruption to our teaching and learning mission,” the update said. 

The encampment comes after police arrested nearly 100 protesters at the nearby University of Southern California after a dispersal order.

Students for Justice in Palestine at UCLA posted on Instagram inviting others to join and said, “WE ARE STAYING UNTIL OUR DEMANDS ARE MET! BE HERE!” 

“We camp in solidarity with Palestine. We refuse to be complicit in this genocidal campaign,” the post said.

Aerial photos from CNN affiliate KCAL show people sitting scattered throughout Royce Quad with tents Thursday. The demonstrators appear peaceful. 

The New York Police Department has pulled out from City College of New York and now no action is imminent, according to a law enforcement official. 

City College of New York officials said they would give the NYPD their written request but so far have not, the official said. In response, NYPD officials have pulled out and no clearing of the park is now expected soon, the official said.

Earlier today, a law enforcement official said the NYPD had been in touch with officials from City College of New York and planned to clear the campus of an encampment set up by pro-Palestine protesters.

The NYPD was expected to move in and clear out the encampment sometime before 5 pm ET Thursday, the official said.

Similar encampments are sweeping universities across the nation, where hundreds of protesters have been arrested.

College administrators have been under intense scrutiny in the wake of the Israel-Hamas war. University of Pennsylvania president Liz Magill and Harvard University president Claudine Gay both stepped down in the wake of pressure over their response to antisemitism on campus.

Now, just over nine months into her tenure, Columbia University president Minouche Shafik — an Egyptian-born economist and former high-ranking official at the World Bank, International Monetary Fund and Bank of England, and former president of the London School of Economics — is under pressure for her handling of Columbia campus protests.

“She’s at serious risk of being able to survive this,” said James Finkelstein, a professor emeritus of public policy at George Mason University who studies the selection and employment of university presidents.

At Columbia, some students, faculty and left-leaning lawmakers are enraged that Shafik authorized the New York Police Department to shut down pro-Palestinian student protests. They say the crackdown on student demonstrations, which resulted in more than 100 arrests, violated academic freedom. At the same time, students, religious groups and right-leaning lawmakers say the administration has failed to stop antisemitism inside Columbia’s campus and at protests outside its gates.

“The likelihood of her keeping her job is at best 50-50,” Finkelstein added.

Read more here.

Organizers of the demonstrations at Emory University on Thursday said law enforcement are responsible for protesters who were “indiscriminately attacked” during an encampment on campus.

“The Georgia State Patrol, Atlanta Police Department, and Emory Police Department all bear responsibility for this overt act of terrorism,” organizers said in a statement.

The organizers said the protesters will “continue the call for Emory University to completely divest from all programs enabling Israeli apartheid.” They also called for “an end to the police’s brutality and the immediate release of all activists arrested.”

“Despite the violence authorized by the Emory President Greg Fenves and Dean of Campus Life Enku Gelaye, protestors continue their action on campus and call for the broader Atlanta community to join them,” the organizers said.

A CNN crew witnessed at least two professors detained by Atlanta police, including Emory University economics professor Caroline Fohlin and Noëlle McAfee, chair of the philosophy department.

CNN filmed video of women being detained. During her interaction with police, Professor Fohlin could be heard expressing concern about the violent arrests and use of force by police against individuals she identified as students. 

The Council on American-Islamic Relations chapter in Georgia on Thursday condemned the “use of force and arrests” by police officers against protesters at Emory University in Atlanta.

“Protesters shared a day of cultural learning and community despite which Emory deployed excessive use of force, tear gas, and rubber bullets,” the organization said in a statement. “Emory University and APD fully bear responsibility for the violence we are seeing at the Emory campus right now. Students and protesters must be allowed their full constitutional rights.”

Protesters were arrested on the campus of Emory University after an encampment was formed in the university quad area Thursday morning.

Video from the scene showed law enforcement officers wrangling protesters to the ground and forcefully putting people in zip-tie handcuffs.

Law enforcement officers used pepper spray to help clear the area of demonstrators, a CNN team on the scene reported. They also deployed pepper balls against a crowd gathered around protesters that had been detained by police. 

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Texas warned against state and university officials deploying law enforcement to “violently censor” protests held by pro-Palestinian demonstrations at the University of Texas at Austin and other universities across the nation.

“The First Amendment guarantees people in Texas and across the nation the right to protest, including those who advocate for Palestinians,” a statement from the group read. “However, state leaders rapidly escalated a planned day of peaceful demonstrations by deploying law enforcement in riot gear against students and the press. Public officials don’t get to forcefully suppress the voices of people they disagree with.”

Dozens of protesters were arrested at UT Austin Wednesday.

In its statement, the ACLU of Texas called on state officials to create safe spaces for students, staff and faculty to protest.

Emerson College President Jay Bernhardt said he “recognizes and respects the civic activism and passion that sparked the protest” in a statement Thursday after law enforcement officials cleared a pro-Palestinian tent encampment at the school, leading to dozens of arrests on Wednesday night.

“Emerson staff and administrators were at the scene, focused on supporting our students through this highly stressful situation and seeking to de-escalate the conflict,” Bernhardt said. “Today, Emerson officials were at the police precincts and courthouses with the arrested students, and the College will receive them back on campus when they are released.”

More than 100 people were arrested and four police officers were injured during the encampment clearing at the Boston liberal arts college, according to the Boston Police Department.

Bernhardt said that he understood that the encampment clearing “has significantly and adversely impacted our community” and offered students the support of grief counselors on campus on Thursday.

Following Wednesday’s arrests of dozens of protesters on the campus of the University of Texas at Austin, the local prosecutor’s office says 46 cases have already been dismissed.

“The Travis County Attorney’s Office received several cases yesterday and throughout the evening as a result of yesterday’s demonstration at the University of Texas,” said spokesperson Diana Melendez with the Travis County Attorney’s Office Thursday. “Legal concerns were raised by defense counsel. We individually reviewed each case that was presented and agreed there were deficiencies in the probable cause affidavits.” 

The prosecutor’s office says the court ordered those protesters to be released. “We will continue to individually review all cases presented to our office to determine whether prosecution is factually and legally appropriate,” said Melendez.

At Georgetown University in Washington, DC, a crowd of pro-Palestinian protesters filled about one-third of the circular driveway in front of Healy Hall, the main administrative building on campus.

The crowd remained peaceful as organizers spoke and led chants of “free Palestine” and “from the river to the sea.” The crowd then marched to the encampment at George Washington University, led by several professors wearing graduation regalia.

At the GW encampment, dozens of tents filled about one-quarter of the campus’ University Yard.

“There is only one solution, intifada revolution, intifada intifada, long live the intifada,” the demonstrators chanted, holding signs reading “Resistance is justified when people are occupied!” “Stop the invasion!” and “Ceasefire now!”

Cheers erupted when the marchers from Georgetown arrived on GW’s campus, with continued chants for “intifada revolution.” The Georgetown students were escorted into the GW encampment.

Two graduate students at Princeton University in New Jersey were arrested Thursday morning for trespassing, the university said in a statement.

People started gathering for a protest Thursday when “a small number began erecting about a half-dozen tents,” the statement said.

“After repeated warnings from the Department of Public Safety to cease the activity and leave the area, two graduate students were arrested for trespassing,” the statement said, adding that the students are not allowed on campus pending a disciplinary process.

The tents were taken down by protesters, they said, but protests at the university are still underway.

On Wednesday, the university put out a message to students sharing the university’s policy on protests.

“In addition to disrupting University operations, some types of protest actions (including occupying or blocking access to buildings, establishing outdoor encampments and sleeping in any campus outdoor space) are inherently unsafe for both those involved and for bystanders, and they increase the potential for escalation and confrontation,” the message said.

As the deadline for negotiations between protesters and Columbia University officials about clearing the encampment on its lawn nears, one high-ranking New York Police Department chief said the students are learning an important lesson.

“Columbia decided to hold its students accountable to the laws of the school. They are seeing the consequences of their actions. Something these kids were most likely never taught,” Chief John Chell, NYPD Chief of Patrol, wrote in a lengthy post on X. “Good SAT scores and self-entitlement do not supersede the law.” 

The chief’s message came in response to an X post from Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, in which the New York congresswoman questioned Columbia’s decision to call the NYPD on their own students.

Chell also expressed frustration at what he said were students’ “hateful anti-Semitic speech and vile language towards our cops.”

CNN has reached out to the NYPD for comment on the chief’s statements and Ocasio-Cortez’s office for reaction.

George Washington University has joined a growing list of schools across the nation where Pro-Palestinian demonstrators are forming encampments on school campuses, according to videos posted by The GW Hatchet student newspaper.

The encampment was organized by students at multiple universities across the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia, a group representing the coalition of Students for Justice in Palestine said in a post on Instagram.

The encampment is a “united demonstration of our power, uplifting our collective demands for financial transparency, boycotts and divestment from the zionist state, and an end to the racist repression pro-Palestine students,” the post said.

In a statement to CNN, George Washington University said it is aware of about 50 students gathering on the University Yard with about 20 tents, in addition to non-students. The university said the protest has remained peaceful.

George Washington Police Department officers and other university officials have responded to the protest, and the school said it is coordinating with the DC Metropolitan Police Department.

Pro-Palestinian protests continued at major US universities throughout Wednesday evening, even after law enforcement was called to step in and make arrests at campuses.

Pro-Palestinian protesters at Columbia University, the epicenter of demonstrations that began last week, said they won’t disperse until the school agrees to cut ties with Israeli academic institutions and commits to a “complete divestment” of its funds from entities connected to Israel, among other demands.

Tensions on multiple campuses were sparked after Hamas’ deadly October 7 attack on Israel, where militants killed about 1,200 people and took over 200 hostages. Israel responded with bombardments on Gaza that have killed more than 34,000 people after more than 200 days of war, according to the enclave’s health ministry.

Some Jewish students say they are concerned for their safety on campus, and college administrators are facing increasing pressure from lawmakers to rein in protests.

Here are the latest developments:

More than 100 people were arrested Wednesday at Emerson College in Boston during a pro-Palestinian protest, the Boston Police Department said.

There were 108 people arrests, and four officers were injured, according to John Boyle with Boston police. All of the injuries were non-life-threatening. New York Times reporter Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs posted video of the protests on X. 

“Arrested protesters are chanting ‘we keep us safe!’ from inside a (police) wagon, as those on sidelines chant along,” the reporter posted on X from the scene. 

Social media posts from Emerson Students for Justice in Palestine also state more than 100 people were taken into custody. 

Video from CNN affiliate WHDH shows officers wearing riot gear approaching protesters overnight. The scene has since cleared, affiliate video shows.

Emerson College President Jay Bernhardt and other school officials penned a letter to students Wednesday saying the encampment set up days prior was violating city law. 

“Emerson College has previously communicated the information we received from the City of Boston about ordinance violations to the protesters on multiple occasions over several days,” the letter read. 

“We support our community’s right to express their views through protest,” said the letter. “However, they must do so in a manner consistent with the laws of the City of Boston and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts,” the university letter states. 

“Our utmost priority is the safety and welfare of our community, and we are deeply concerned that the protesters are risking legal consequences beyond Emerson’s control when they do not abide by city and state laws,” the university said.  

Iran’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, on Thursday expressed “deep concerns” over the police response to pro-Palestinian protests on US college campuses.

Amir-Abdollahian criticized the “suppression and harsh treatment” of professors and students by police in a post on X. 

“This suppression is in line with Washington’s full-fledged support for the Israeli regime and clearly demonstrates the U.S. government’s double standards and contradictory behavior regarding freedom of speech,” Amir-Abdollahian posted.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday denounced the pro-Palestinian protests on US college campuses as “horrific” and “antisemitic,” calling for them to end.

“It has to be stopped. It has to be condemned and condemned unequivocally,” Netanyahu said in a video message on X.

Netanyahu added that while some officials have responded differently, “more has to be done” in response to the demonstrations.

Netanyahu said that a rise of antisemitism in the US “has terrible consequences.”

His remarks came as nearly 100 protesters were arrested at the University of Southern California and dozens more were arrested at the University of Texas in Austin on Wednesday.

Protesters at Columbia University, the epicenter of demonstrations that began last week, said they won’t disperse until the school agrees to cut ties with Israeli universities and commits to divesting funds from Israel-linked entities, among other demands.

University of Southern California President Carol Folt has stayed silent as campus tensions skyrocket after pro-Palestinian protests and arrests, Los Angeles Times reporter Angie Orellana Hernandez said.

“I’m a bit confused as to why USC President Carol Folt has not spoken about anything of what has been happening on campus. This has been flaring up post-October 7.” Hernandez told CNN’s Anna Coren. 

Hernandez says the Los Angeles Times had repeatedly requested to speak with the university head, to no avail.

Hernandez said it remains unclear what the protesters’ plans are because of campus closures, but that they showed that they were “determined to see it through.”

Last week, USC canceled the valedictory speech of Asna Tabassum, a first-generation South Asian-American Muslim, citing safety concerns.

That decision sparked a wave of protests and outcry from students.

“Whether or not I planed to speak about Palestine, to speak about any sort of conflict in general, I think is besides the point. The point here is that the university pre-emptively made a decision, not on the basis of safety, but on the basis of potentially other factors that I think impedes on my freedom of expression,” Tabassum said.

Some context: Tensions on multiple US campuses were sparked after Hamas’ October 7 attack, where militants killed about 1,200 people and took over 200 hostages. Israel’s retaliatory assault on Gaza has killed more than 34,000 people, according to the enclave’s health ministry.

The tense protest at the University of Southern California has ended, but the campus will remain closed until further notice, the university said late Wednesday.

“Students, faculty, staff, and people with business on campus may enter with proper identification,” USC said in a social media post.

Some background: Earlier Wednesday, the university closed its campus as LAPD began arresting demonstrators. Nearly 100 people were arrested after the university had ordered protesters at the campus’ Alumni Park to disperse.

Tensions escalated once police entered the University of Southern California campus, according to Jonathan Park, an editor of the Daily Trojan, the college’s newspaper. 

“When we saw the LAPD coming in from Vermont Avenue and working with campus officers, encircling on them, it definitely changed the mood,” Park told CNN’s Anna Coren. 

Pro-Palestinian protesters gathered at USC’s Alumni Park around 4 a.m. local time on Wednesday and were largely peaceful until scuffles broke out between police and demonstrators over posting signs on trees around noon, Park said. 

One person was arrested but quickly released following loud chants from protesters saying to “let him go,” according to CNN correspondent Nick Watts reporting from the scene. 

The Los Angeles Police Department said 93 people were later arrested on suspicion of trespassing during Wednesday’s demonstrations at USC.

Protester demands: Park said the protesters had six demands, among them an academic boycott of Israel, protecting free speech on campus, stopping displacement in Palestinian territories, no policing on campus, and calling on USC to “end the silence on the genocide and Palestine.”

The Los Angeles Police Department said 93 people were arrested on suspicion of trespassing during Wednesday’s demonstrations at the University of Southern California.

“The university is a private campus and the group had been violating some of their orders. It was a trespass at that point and we assisted with the arrests,” Los Angeles Police Captain Kelly Muniz said during a briefing.

One person was also arrested for assault with a deadly weapon, Muniz said. She did not provide further details.

No protesters or officers have been reported injured, police said.

Some context: USC’s Department of Public Safety ordered protesters gathering at the campus’ Alumni Park Wednesday afternoon to disperse or face arrest for trespassing.

At one point during the demonstrations, tensions escalated as protesters refused to relocate and remove their tents and other prohibited items, a university official said.

The university closed its campus Wednesday evening as LAPD began arresting demonstrators.

There is growing tension at Columbia University amid the pro-Palestinian protests on the New York campus.

Student protesters against Israel’s assault on Gaza are demanding Columbia cut all financial ties with Israel.

“It’s pretty disheartening to see all this on campus. I will say I think a lot of people are misguided,” said Michael D’Agostino, a senior student at the university.

While most protests have been non-violent, some Jewish students are expressing concern for their safety.

“The antisemitic comments and activity is running rampant,” said Jessica Schwalb, a Jewish student at Columbia.

The university recently shifted to hybrid classes due to safety concerns, allowing students to take classes and final exams online.

“It’s making harder to go to classes and everything. And things are switching to going remote,” said Rony Anyin, a sophomore student.

The California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt campus will remain closed through the weekend as protesters, including “unidentified non-students,” continue to occupy two buildings, school officials said in an update.

Work and classes will remain remote, and officials are considering keeping the campus closed for longer.

“There are unidentified non-students with unknown intentions, in Siemens Hall,” the officials said.
“This creates an unpredictable environment. In addition, all entrances to the building are barricaded, creating a fire hazard. Adding to health and safety concerns, many toilets are no longer working.”

Other buildings on the campus in Arcata are at risk of being occupied, and protesters “have shown a willingness” to lock themselves in facilities and steal equipment, the officials said.

“Campus officials are communicating with protestors and continuing to encourage them to leave as soon as possible.”

Graffiti described as “hateful” has been painted on campus, the officials said.

“The University condemns in the strongest terms all forms of hatred, bigotry, and violence. Anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, hatred, and bigotry in all forms have no place at Cal Poly Humboldt.”

The university “supports free speech through open dialogue that is respectful and constructive,” the officials said.

“That does not include behavior that involves destroying and damaging property, and disrupting students, faculty, and staff from learning, teaching, and working. Everyone deserves to be in an environment where everyone can feel safe, included, and respected.”

Th Columbia University Board of Trustees released a statement Wednesday saying they strongly support President Minouche Shafik, who has faced calls for her resignation amid intense pressure to rein in days-long protests.

“The Columbia University Board of Trustees strongly supports President Shafik as she steers the university through this extraordinarily challenging time,” the board said in a statement Wednesday. “During the search process for this role, President Shafik told us that she would always take a thoughtful approach to resolving conflict, balancing the disparate voices that make up a vibrant campus like Columbia’s, while taking a firm stance against hatred, harassment and discrimination.”
“That’s exactly what she’s doing now,” the trustees added.

 The board said it is “urgently working” with Shafik to resolve the unrest on campus and “rebuild the bonds of our community.”

Amid arrests of pro-Palestine protesters across universities, the Muslim Public Affairs Council condemned calls for the deployment of the National Guard.

It said the “crackdown on students with an overwhelming militaristic force has set a dangerous precedent for university administrations nationwide.” 

“The Muslim Public Affairs Council calls on the people of conscience, including faculty and leaders, to oppose threats to deploy the National Guard on the Gaza Solidarity Encampment at Columbia University, whose aim is to push back against the university’s continued financial investment in corporations that profit from Israeli apartheid, genocide, and occupation in Palestine,” the council said in a statement Wednesday. 

MPAC urged for a reevaluation of strategies used to handle protests on campuses across the country and says it advocates for “approaches that emphasize de-escalation and address students’ concerns through constructive means rather than force and intimidation.” 

In a previous statement on Tuesday, MPAC accused the White House of having double standards for issuing a response condemning violence and physical intimidation against Jewish students at Columbia, but says the administration “consistently fails to extend the same sentiments to students who face repeated violence, intimidation, doxing, and harassment for their pro-Palestinian advocacy.” 

Travis County Sheriff’s office said Thursday that 57 arrests were made at the University of Texas, Austin campus.

On Wednesday university police had warned students in an email that they faced more arrests if they didn’t disperse from the site.

Assistant Police Chief Ashley Griffin wrote in the email that protesters were violating the law and could be arrested for disorderly conduct, rioting, and obstructing a highway or other passageway, according to an email obtained by CNN.

Some context: The Palestine Solidarity Committee in Austin organized a walkout and occupation on the school’s South Lawn in Austin.

It led to multiple confrontations between police officers, state troopers “in full riot gear with batons” and the students, Amelia Kimball, associate managing editor at The Daily Texan, told CNN News Central.

“I don’t think students were expecting this kind of a response,” she said.

House Speaker Mike Johnson called on Columbia University President Nemat “Minouche” Shafik to resign during a tense press conference Wednesday.

The crowd repeatedly interrupted the speaker and booed him and other GOP lawmakers who were with him as they stood at the mics. 

“We just can’t allow this kind of hatred and antisemitism to flourish on our campuses, and it must be stopped in its tracks. Those who are perpetrating this violence should be arrested. I am here today, joining my colleagues and calling on President Shafik to resign if she cannot immediately bring order to this chaos,” Johnson said. 

Johnson visited Columbia University to meet Jewish students and delivered remarks along with other Republican lawmakers. Johnson’s words come as he faces his own onslaught of conservative criticism and as a handful of House members have threatened to oust him.

The speaker said he met with Shafik and other top university administrators Wednesday and urged her to take immediate action to address the unrest on campus.

“Our feeling is that they have not acted to restore order on the campus,” he said. 

Johnson said he would call President Joe Biden immediately after departing the campus and demand he take action, not ruling out the need for the National Guard to step in at some point.  

“My intention is to call President Biden after we leave here and share with him what we have seen with our own two eyes and demand that he take action, there is executive authority that would be appropriate. If this is not contained quickly, and if these threats and intimidation are not stopped, there is an appropriate time for the National Guard,” he said. 

Althea, a Jewish student in the encampment, said she’s been subject to harassment being part of the pro-Palestinian movement on the Columbia University campus.

She wears a Star of David necklace and a keffiyeh, which has become a symbol of Palestinian identity. She said her family has roots in the Middle East, and that she’s a Mizrahi Jew. 

“I’ve been called a terrorist. I’ve been called a Jew hater. I’ve been called an enemy of my own people, none of which are true, because Judaism and Palestinian liberation go hand in hand,” she said to CNN just outside of the encampment. 

She asked not to be referred to by her last name for privacy concerns.  

Althea said combatting anti-Semitism and Islamophobia go hand in hand. 

“I would honestly say that the biggest threat to us on campus right now is the heavy presence of NYPD,” she said. 

She said Palestinian rights came to the forefront of her consciousness after she visited Israel last year through a trip organized by the campus Hillel. She said she visited a town on the Mediterranean coast where on one side was a Palestinian town and the other was an Israeli. 

 “On one side, there’s this pristine environment that’s Israeli homes. On the other side, it’s a slum, like it’s dirty… the Palestinian village doesn’t have the resources to be able to clean up and function. A lot of the houses don’t have electricity.”

 The encampment at Columbia observes the Muslim daily prayers as well as Seder for the Jewish holiday of Passover.  

“I think being Jewish inside the encampment has given me a very helpful perspective, where I’m able to say yes, I attended this Seder a couple nights ago with a lot of Palestinian and Muslim students who were welcomed with open arms,” she said.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott said that arrests of pro-Palestinian protesters at the University of Texas at Austin would continue “until the crowd disperses.”

“These protesters belong in jail,” Abbott said on X. “Antisemitism will not be tolerated in Texas. Period.”

State troopers in riot gear, including some on horseback, were seen by CNN affiliate KEYE breaking up a group of protesters at demonstrations at the University on Wednesday.

The Palestine Solidarity Committee in Austin organized the walkout and occupation on the school’s South Lawn.

Amelia Kimball, an associate managing editor at The Daily Texan, told CNN there was a “physical clash” between students and police at UT Austin on Wednesday.

“Numerous arrests have been made, numerous students have been put in squad cars,” Kimball said.

Abbott called for the expulsion of any students protesting in Texas. “Students joining in hate-filled, antisemitic protests at any public college or university in Texas should be expelled,” he wrote.

However, Democratic Rep. Greg Casar, whose district covers part of Austin, was critical of the police response to protesters in a post on social media.

“Freedom of speech and peaceful assembly are basic constitutional rights,” Casar posted on X. “Student protesters — whether you agree with them or not — have a right to safety & fairness. Responding to peaceful demonstrations with weapons and riot gear escalates tension and makes everyone less safe.”

President Joe Biden will be in New York City on Friday, but White House and campaign officials said there have been no internal discussions about him visiting Columbia University.

Some demonstrators say the Biden administration is complicit in the deaths of the many thousands of civilians in Gaza.

Groups of senior White House officials have traveled to cities with large Muslim and Arab populations in recent weeks to meet with local community leaders and hear their concerns — gatherings that have at times prompted calls for boycotts.

White House spokesman Andrew Bates said Tuesday that the White House was monitoring “closely” the protests on college campuses and that Biden takes seriously the conversations he has had with community leaders about the current “painful moment.”

As universities across the US continue to see pro-Palestinian protests, data shows that only about 7% of younger Americans strongly favor the US providing military aid to Israel in its war against Hamas, while 29% strongly oppose it.

About 30% of US adults over the age of 65 strongly favor providing military aid, while about 9% strongly oppose it, according to Pew Research Center.

According to Pew Research Center, there is no big age difference among US adults regarding whether the country should provide aid to Gaza, with 25-33% strongly in favor of doing so.

President Joe Biden on Wednesday signed into law an aid package worth $95 billion that includes $26 billion for Israel. 

The dean of Columbia College, the undergraduate liberal arts college at Columbia University, sent in an email to alumni Wednesday that the protests were a “difficult moment” for the New York school.

“I have heard from numerous alumni, parents and students voicing their thoughts on what they have witnessed personally or observed from a distance in recent days.”

“I have heard from numerous alumni, parents and students voicing their thoughts on what they have witnessed personally or observed from a distance in recent days,” wrote Josef Sorett, dean of Columbia College.
“No one can or should dictate how anyone thinks or feels, particularly in the face of such complex and vexing issues. All I can offer at present is my perspective — and as much information as we have at present — even as, I will admit, words are surely inadequate,”

Sorett stressed “several key points regarding the situation on and around campus,” including “unacceptable instances of intimidating and harassing behavior on our campus.”

“Let me state emphatically that Antisemitic or Islamophobic rhetoric — like any other language used to hurt, harass and frighten people — has no place in our community… However, it is important to recognize that the University is limited in its ability to control the actions or words of members of the public on the streets surrounding campus – even as we acknowledge that not every incident has been outside the gates and that some Columbia affiliates are not without fault.”