Police officers flooded Emory University’s normally quiet campus in Atlanta after protesters set up tents on Thursday morning, leading to the latest clashes in the pro-Palestinian protest movement that has erupted. spread across American campuses this week.
As protesters at Emory shouted, officers wrestled with protesters on the ground and escorted others away. From a distance of several dozen yards, witnesses stared and used their cell phones to record the scene.
Authorities did not immediately say how many people had been arrested in Atlanta, but across the country, more than 400 protesters have been detained by police since April 18, when more than 400 people were arrested. 100 protesters at Columbia University in New York sparked a wave of student activism nationwide.
University administrators and law enforcement officials responded by arresting students, removing detention camps, and threatening academic sanctions when some Jewish students expressed concern for the their safety and some politicians have demanded a crackdown on the growing protests.
Boston police arrested 108 protesters at Emerson College late Wednesday, just hours after Los Angeles police arrested 93 people on the University of Southern California campus for refusing to disperse. Earlier on Wednesday, dozens of police, many of them in riot gear and some on horseback, were arrested. 57 people at the University of Texas at Austin. In each case, it is unclear how many of the arrested protesters were students.
However, new protests continued to erupt, spread further some famous universities.
At Emory, protesters accused police of using pepper spray or tear gas to disperse the protest. The university did not immediately comment on the claims, but a spokeswoman, Laura Diamond, said the protesters were “activists attempting to disrupt our university as students of We finish class and prepare for the final exam.”
The university “does not tolerate vandalism or other criminal activity on our campus,” Ms. Diamond added.
As universities work to quell the unrest, some lawmakers have called for stronger measures, including the House Speaker. Mike Johnsonwho during a visit to Columbia on Wednesday demanded action from the White House and said they should eventually consider the use of military force.
Universities have deployed police and suspended students, under pressure from such lawmakers, as well as donors and alumni, who called for the protests anti-Semitic.
Many student activists say they are encouraged by crackdowns on largely peaceful protests on other campuses and universities. Financial relationships with companies which protesters say is making weapons for Palestinian use.
There are few signs that the movement is losing momentum: About 100 protesters set up tents at Harvard on Wednesday night, even after the university warned students could face discipline.
