Police make first arrests in Florida of pro-Palestinian protesters at two university campuses
GAINESVILLE — Police supported by state troopers arrested nine pro-Palestinian protesters late Monday who had occupied a plaza on the University of Florida for days. They were among the first college arrests in Florida.
Campus police Sgt. Courtney Marie Burgoyne said officers arrested nine protesters, who were led away in handcuffs. It followed the arrest of three other protesters at the University of South Florida in Tampa hours earlier.
The administration at Florida’s flagship public university said in a statement the protesters had violated new rules announced last week that included “no disruptions” and a ban on camping, sleeping, bullhorns and tents – but it didn’t immediately say exactly what the protesters were accused of doing wrong. A spokesman, Steve Orlando, declined Monday night to answer questions about the arrests.
“I do not have to tell you anything,” an unidentified campus police officer told a protester at the scene. About 30 protesters remained after the arrests. Some shouted “shame” and “who do you protect?” at officers and troopers.
Unidentified troopers from the Florida Highway Patrol arrest one of nine pro-Palestinian protesters on the campus of the University of Florida late Monday, April 29, 2024. (Vivienne Serret/Fresh Take Florida)It wasn’t immediately clear whether anyone who was arrested was a student or otherwise affiliated with the university.
Under the university’s new rules, students who violate them will be suspended, and employees or professors would be fired.
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In a statement emailed to reporters 16 minutes after the arrests, Orlando said police gave the protesters “multiple warnings and multiple opportunities to comply” before they were arrested.
“This is not complicated: The University of Florida is not a daycare, and we do not treat protesters like children – they knew the rules, they broke the rules, and they’ll face the consequences,” Orlando said in the statement. “For many days, we have patiently told protesters – many of whom are outside agitators – that they were able to exercise their right to free speech and free assembly.”
The arrests occurred about 7:40 p.m. Monday on the school’s Plaza of the Americas, the centrally located square in the heart of campus. Law enforcement officers – including about 15 campus and municipal police officers and about six Florida Highway Patrol troopers – marched toward the plaza and protesters with batons in hand.
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Police appeared to shut off power in the area during the arrests then restored it immediately afterward.
Last week was the last day of regularly scheduled classes for the semester. Some students were finishing final exams this week.
Sunday night, as police explained the university’s new rules to protesters, some of them criticized officers and compared them to members of the white supremacist group, the Ku Klux Klan, and the Israeli Defense Force: “IDF, KKK, UFPD, you’re all the same,” protesters chanted as someone beat on a drum.
This story was produced by Fresh Take Florida, a news service of the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications. The reporter can be reached at vivienneserret@ufl.edu. You can donate to support our students here.