Eleven people, including three students and the owner of Yassin’s Falafel House, are arrested during a Vigil at the University of Tennessee.
UT Police say last (Wednesday) night’s arrests happened on the Law School lawn. The vigil was meant to honor communities displaced in Palestine back in 1948 to create Israel.
Several police cars and an ambulance were sent to the area at 9 p.m. after attendees ignored warnings about consequences for violating time restrictions and stayed on campus too long which resulted in the arrests.
Below is the full statement the university sent to WVLT News:
The university has repeatedly communicated about following policies, including regarding the time, place and manner for holding events, to the protest group leaders and provided signage at their reserved event space. Administrators and UTPD provided personal warnings today that violation would result in trespass citation and arrest.
Despite these clear and repeated warnings, several members chose not to vacate the area and were arrested for trespassing. Eleven group members were taken into custody, including three students and eight people not affiliated with the university. Any student arrested will also be referred to student conduct.
The University of Tennessee respects individual’s rights to free speech and free expression and is committed to managing the campus for all. We will continue to be guided by the law and university policy, neutral of viewpoint. Spokesperson for the University of Tennessee
This all comes after protests started on UT’s campus on May 1, to protest the war between Israel and Hamas in Palestine.
On May 2, nine people were charged after the group refused to disband.
Following the arrests, UT Chancellor Donde Plowman released a statement that the university respects individual’s rights to free speech and free expression and is committed to the safety of all members of our campus community.”
Students that were protesting on May 5, including Hasan Atatrah, had a list of demands that call for the university and the United States to stop supporting the war or companies who manufacture weapons used in the fighting.
“We’re calling on our government and our university to divest from weapons manufacturers that are involved in human rights violations. Calling on them to disclose a lot of those investments that they have and calling on them to protect students and peoples rights to free speech,” said Atatrah. Story courtesy of WVLT
