SWAT officers storm Tulane encampment, arrest protesters
- Pro-Palestine protests have spread across the country
- Police have clashed with protesters on college campuses
- Fourteen protesters were arrested Wednesday at Tulane
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS – APRIL 29: A painted protest sign sits on the grass at a tent encampment established on the campus of the University of Chicago to show support for Palestinians in Gaza on April 29, 2024 in Chicago, Illinois. The encampment is one of dozens being established by students at universities around the country who are calling for a ceasefire in Gaza, where nearly 35,000 people have been killed in Israeli attacks since the October 7 attack on Israel by Hamas. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
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(NewsNation) — Members of the New Orleans Police Department, including SWAT officers, cleared a pro-Palestine encampment at Tulane University in the early hours of Wednesday morning, arresting 14.
After police confronted protesters at Columbia University, pro-Palestine protests have spread to college campuses across the country. Many of the protests are peaceful, but as some schools have called in law enforcement to clear what they call unauthorized gatherings, police have clashed with protesters, resulting in arrests.
At Tulane University, an encampment was set up this week, with students vowing to continue until the school, along with nearby Loyola University, divested from Israel.
Leaders at Tulane said the “overwhelming majority” of the protesters were not affiliated with the school, but protesters pushed back on that, saying most were Tulane and Loyola students.
NOPD officers had clashed with protesters Monday, arresting six. Shortly after 3 a.m. on Wednesday morning, officers, including SWAT officers in riot gear, moved in to clear the encampment at the request of Tulane leadership.
Video shows a line of officers in riot gear advancing on a group of protesters, as well as protesters being wrestled to the ground and arrested.
The university said only two of the 14 arrested were Tulane students. It thanked law enforcement for removing “protesters who have trespassed on our campus over the last two days and erected an illegal encampment.”
Tulane leadership said seven students had been suspended, and those involved in the protest would be referred for disciplinary action. It said it was also looking into reports that staff or faculty had participated as well.
