Colleges claim not all protesters getting arrested are part of their school communities: ‘Outside groups’
Colleges across the U.S. are reporting that some of the anti-Israel protesters participating in and getting arrested at demonstrations are not part of the school community and instead are outsiders.
Emory University in Atlanta released a statement Thursday that 28 people were arrested during a demonstration at the Emory quad, 20 of whom were members of the school community.
In the statement, Cheryl Elliott, the vice president of public safety at Emory University, said a few dozen protesters arrived at campus just before 7:45 a.m.
When the protesters arrived, she said, they ignored and pushed past Emory Police Department (EPD) officers stationed at the quad and set up tents in an area where equipment and materials were staged for a commencement ceremony.
Students chant during an anti-Israel protest against the war in Gaza at Emory University in Atlanta on April 25, 2024. (Elijah Nouvelage/AFP via Getty Images)
“Based on their actions and refusal to confirm their connection to Emory, EPD made the assessment that these individuals were not Emory community members,” Elliott said.
The Atlanta Police Department and Georgia State Patrol responded to assist with the situation, around which time social media accounts began announcing a protest and occupation at the quad, calling on non-Emory community members to join the protest.
The EPD continued to issue warnings to people in the encampment, saying they were trespassing on private property and advising them to leave.
Body camera video released Thursday by the Boston Police Department shows officers talking with Emerson College anti-Israel protesters. (Boston Police Department)
The warnings were ignored and officers from all three police agencies worked to disperse the crowd and arrest people for trespassing.
The events escalated and objects were thrown at officers, Elliott said, adding that one person attacked a non-EPD officer and appeared to have been subdued with an electric stun gun, as seen on video shared on social media. Police then used chemical irritants to control the crowd.
“As of this message, we have been notified that 28 individuals have been arrested, including 20 Emory community members, some of whom have been released,” Elliott said.
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Students chant during an anti-Israel protest at Emory University in Atlanta on April 25, 2024. (Elijah Nouvelage/AFP/Getty Images)
Emory is not the only school to report outsiders participating in protests.
On Saturday night, George Washington University confirmed anti-Israel protests included outsiders not affiliated with the school.
University officials said there were several nonaffiliated people, or outsiders, who joined the protest. The university has since taken steps to prevent these people from accessing the University Yard. The school was also aware of offensive signs, which GW officials said they did not believe were being held by anyone associated with the university.
At Ohio State University, police arrested nearly 40 people over the past two days after breaking up an anti-Israel encampment. Of the 40 people arrested, 18 were students, according to a report from a local ABC station.
Mounted police work to contain demonstrators protesting the war in Gaza at the University of Texas at Austin on April 24, 2024. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
Officials at the University of Texas at Austin said nearly half of the people arrested during anti-Israel demonstrations last Wednesday were not affiliated with the university.
The university said the protest, organized by the Palestine Solidarity Committee, saw “significant participation by outside groups present on our campus yesterday.”
“This outside group presence is what we’ve seen from the affiliated national organization’s efforts to disrupt and create disorder,” UT Austin said. “Roughly half (26) of the 55 people who violated Institutional Rules and were ultimately arrested were unaffiliated with The University of Texas.”
Outside agitators also infiltrated protests at Northeastern University in Boston.
“Earlier this morning, the Northeastern University Police Department (NUPD) – in cooperation with local law enforcement partners – began clearing an unauthorized encampment on the university’s Boston campus,” Northeastern Vice President for Communications Renata Nyul told FOX 25 in Boston in a statement. “What began as a student demonstration two days ago, was infiltrated by professional organizers with no affiliation to Northeastern. Last night, the use of virulent antisemitic slurs, including ‘Kill the Jews,’ crossed the line. We cannot tolerate this kind of hate on our campus.”
Protests continued throughout the week last week at Columbia University in New York City.
Columbia President Nemat “Minouche” Shafik issued a statement last week about the protests, saying she was “deeply saddened” by certain actions of agitators who formed an “encampment” on the campus, riling students and faculty with anti-Jewish slogans and chants.
“Our bonds as a community have been severely tested in ways that will take a great deal of time and effort to reaffirm,” Shafik said before acknowledging the influence of outsiders on the community. “Students across an array of communities have conveyed fears for their safety, and we have announced additional actions we are taking to address security concerns. The decibel of our disagreements has only increased in recent days. These tensions have been exploited and amplified by individuals who are not affiliated with Columbia who have come to campus to pursue their own agendas.”
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The passenger that accosted Adams accused him of leaving the state while anti-Israel agitators were being arrested by police at Columbia University in recent days. (Peter Gerber)
Fox News Digital reached out to several colleges and universities – Yale, New York University, Harvard and the University of Southern California – where anti-Israel protests have taken place over the past week but did not hear back, despite several attempts seeking comment on the influence of outsiders.
Still, the New York City Police Department has acknowledged the influence of outsiders, especially at Columbia University.
“What may have started as a group of Columbia students wanting to express their constitutional right to protest has drawn crowds of outside agitators who are trying to hijack a peaceful protest and turn it something far more sinister,” NYPD Deputy Commissioner Kaz Daughtry said in a post on X. “The NYPD sees these same groups of professional protesters nightly at various demonstrations regardless of the message; sometimes switching sides depending on the week. Those same outside agitators continue to spew hate and antisemitism.”
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“The NYPD has and will always support the right to peacefully protest; however, we stand ready and willing to address what’s happening at Columbia University as soon as the university president allows us on their private property,” Daughtry added.
Fox News Digital’s Bradford Betz, Louis Casiano and Chris Pandolfo contributed to this report.
