TWIN CITIES, Minn. — Nearly a dozen protesters were arrested Monday night after they barricaded and vandalized a University of Minnesota administrative building.
Several hundred pro-Palestinian demonstrators gathered outside Morris Hall as part of a protest organized by the school’s Students for a Democratic Society chapter, the Star Tribune Reports. Photos from outside the building show patio furniture blocking the building’s front windows and doors.
A U of M spokesperson said about 30 protesters entered the building around 4 p.m. and “began spray painting, including covering lenses of all internal security cameras, breaking interior windows, and barricading the building’s entrance and exit points.” The university sent a campus alert at 4:39 p.m. stating protesters had caused property damage and restricted ingress and egress, and advising people to stay away from the area. The student group said it was not restricting entering or exiting of the building and that they escorted administrators out of the building occupying it.
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Officers with the U of M Police Department (UMPD) and the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office entered the building at 5:40 p.m. and arrested at least 11 people.
The protesters were equipped with tents and supplies and said they planned to stay until their demands were met, including the university divesting from Israel and weapons manufacturers and repealing its political neutrality agreement. The U of M Board of Regents adopted the policy in August, which states they want endowment investments to be based primarily on financial concerns rather than social and political ones.
“These issues are not something that we can separate ourselves from,” said student Juliet Murphy, a media representative for Students for a Democratic Society. “There are a lot of students in the university who have families in Lebanon, who have families in Palestine, who have to go to their exams knowing that there is this horrible thing happening across the world — and not only is it happening, but their university is contributing to it.”
University of Minnesota Made a Deal with Students in April
While this is the first time pro-Palestinian protesters have occupied and vandalized a U of M building, it is the second time an encampment has been erected. In April, protesters occupied the school’s Northrop Mall. Nine people, mostly current U of M students and recent graduates, were arrested and charged with trespassing and refusing to depart, according to MPR News. All charges were later dismissed.
Student organizers agreed in May to end their encampment after administrators said U of M would disclose its investments in Israel, which it did a week later. Students were also allowed to speak at a Board of Regents meeting in May. The Board ultimately issued its neutrality agreement and the university also issued demonstration guidelines over the summer. In part, the guidelines require demonstrations be limited to 100 people and end by 10 p.m., and protesters cannot use tents or stay in campus buildings after scheduled closing hours.
Murphy told MPR News that protesters had been “hopeful” after talks with university leaders last spring, but said Monday that “over the summer and through the semester, it’s become abundantly created that they do not consider (divestment) to be a priority.”
