ATLANTA — A protest encampment was set up Thursday morning at Emory University in Atlanta in support of Palestinians, with the school describing it in a statement as a "trespass" and a heavy law enforcement response that descended on the campus quad.
11Alive crews were at the protest site and witnessed several individuals being detained and loaded into police vans. In an update, Emory University officials said they were notified that 28 individuals, including 20 Emory community members, were arrested. Officials added that some of those individuals have been released from custody.
Atlanta Police confirmed they used "chemical irritants" on the protesters but said they did not deploy rubber bullets, according to a statement on their website.
Emory's statement from University Communications Assistant Vice President Laura Diamond said that the protesters were "not members of our community" and were "attempting to disrupt our university as our students finish classes and prepare for finals."
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Georgia State Patrol confirmed to 11Alive it was among the agencies that responded in assistance, it said, of the Atlanta Police Department. APD also separately confirmed it assisted Emory University police in responding.
Videos that circulated on social media appeared to show tense confrontations with officers and protesters as the encampment was cleared, including struggles during arrests and reports of the use of rubber bullets and mace by officers.
The Georgia Department of Public Safety issued a statement saying troopers tased at least one protester twice, as well as used pepper balls. They said they did not use tear gas.
At least two people identifying themselves as students at Atlanta universities wrote an op-ed Thursday morning in the outlet Mondoweiss describing the reasons and goals for the encampment, which include opposing the future Atlanta Public Safety Training Center that has long been opposed by an activist movement derisively calling it "Cop City."
"We are occupying Emory, not because it is the only institution that is complicit in genocide and police militarization, but because its ties are some of the strongest," the op-ed stated.
Thursday afternoon, protest organizers, Gaza Solidarity & Stop Cop City Encampment, released the following statement regarding the events that transpired on campus:
"Atlanta community members were indiscriminately attacked today with pepper bullets, tear gas, and tasers for the simple act of camping out on a school lawn in solidarity with Palestine and Stop Cop City. Those attacked today include students, faculty member Noelle McAfee, journalists, medics, and clergy. The Georgia State Patrol, Atlanta Police Department, and Emory Police Department all bear responsibility for this overt act of terrorism. As protestors collectively retreated from streams of pepper bullets, hundreds more students have taken their place, calling for an end to the police's brutality and the immediate release of all activists arrested. They also continue the call for Emory University to completely divest from all programs enabling Israeli apartheid. Despite the violence authorized by the Emory President Greg Fenves and Dean of Campus Life Enku Gelaye, protestors continue their action on campus and call for the broader Atlanta community to join them."
11Alive is working to independently confirm if a staff member was arrested during the protests.
Activists and independent journalists on scene reported numerous arrests. The 11Alive SkyTracker flew over the scene around 11 a.m., where law enforcement officers could be seen moving around dismantled tents as well as police tape around the Emory Quad, where the camp had been set up.
The full statement from Emory said:
Several dozen protesters trespassed into Emory University’s campus early Thursday morning and set up tents on the Quad. These individuals are not members of our community. They are activists attempting to disrupt our university as our students finish classes and prepare for finals. Emory does not tolerate vandalism or other criminal activity on campus. The Emory Police Department ordered the group to leave and contacted Atlanta Police and Georgia State Patrol for assistance.
Emory University Vice President for Public Safety Cheryl Elliott also sent out the following letter to Emory students, faculty and staff:
Dear Emory Community,
I’m writing to share further information about the events that took place on our Atlanta campus earlier today and the actions taken by the Emory Police Department (EPD).
At 7:41 a.m. a few dozen protestors arrived on campus. When they arrived, these individuals ignored and pushed past EPD officers stationed on the Quad and set up tents in an area where equipment and materials were staged for Commencement. Based on their actions and refusal to confirm their connection to Emory, EPD made the assessment that these individuals were not Emory community members. Officers with the Atlanta Police Department and Georgia State Patrol were then called to provide further assistance. Around this time, several social media accounts announced a protest and occupation of the Quad and issued a public call for non-Emory community members to join them.
EPD issued multiple warnings at different intervals advising individuals in the encampment that they were trespassing on private property and instructing them to leave. When those requests were ignored, Atlanta Police and Georgia State Patrol officers assisted EPD with dispersing the crowd and taking individuals into custody for criminal trespass.
During this process and the subsequent confrontations, objects were thrown at police officers. To our knowledge at this time, an individual attacked a non-EPD officer and appears to have been tased. Video of this incident has been widely shared on social media. Based on current information, this individual is not a member of the Emory community. Due to the direct assault of officers, law enforcement released chemical irritants into the ground to assist with crowd control.
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. We are working with responding agencies to expedite the release of any Emory community members who remain in custody.
Our primary goal today was clearing the Quad of a disruptive encampment while holding individuals accountable to the law.
Sincerely,
Cheryl Elliott
Emory University Vice President for Public Safety
Georgia Governor Brian Kemp condemned the protesters and commended law enforcement's actions in a statement released on X.
“Across the country, Americans have watched with horror as radicals have terrorized Jewish students and forced them to evacuate from their dormitories and classrooms. College campuses are designed to be places of learning and often civil discourse, but in Georgia they will never be a safe haven for those who promote terrorism and extremism that threatens the safety of students," the statement read in part.
Georgia's Republican Attorney General Chris Carr backed the school's request for law enforcement to clear out the encampment, posting on X, "We will proudly stand by any university that takes action to protect the health and safety of Georgia’s students." Several state Democratic lawmakers signed a statement saying they were "deeply alarmed by reports of excessive force" and said the "use of extreme anti-riot tactics by Georgia State Patrol, including tasers and gas, is a dangerous escalation."
Among the signees were Rep. Ruwa Romman, Georgia's only Palestinian-American elected state lawmaker.
Following the protests on Emory's campus, Georgia NAACP President Gerald Griggs posted on X, formerly Twitter, calling for a meeting with the university president.
"As Atlanta students and community members, we echo the growing national calls for immediate divestment from Israel and, by extension, Cop City, which are death-dealing partnerships profiting off of genocide, occupation, and police terror," the Mondoweiss op-ed stated. "We stand in solidarity with all students and university employees who have risen up to challenge the oppressive status quo and disrupt genocide economies, from Columbia University to Vanderbilt University."
The Instagram account for "Emory Stop Cop City" wrote, "The movement for Palestinian liberation and the movement to stop cop city in Atlanta are one and the same."
In February, the Council on American-Islamic Relations shared concerns in a letter about what the group said was harassment and intimidation of people with pro-Palestinian views at Emory.
RELATED: Georgia organization claims harassment at Emory University against Palestinian, Muslim students
“There has been a wave of Islamophobia and Muslim harassment on Emory’s campus,” said Javeria Jamil with CAIR Georgia.
In that instance, Emory said it was reviewing the letter and "does not tolerate any action that discriminates against groups or individuals because of their nationality, identity or beliefs."
CAIR Georgia said in a new statement Thursday after the protest at Emory that it "strongly condemns the use of force and arrests against peaceful protesters at the Emory student sit-in."
“Emory University and APD fully bear responsibility for the violence we are seeing at the Emory campus right now," a CAIR Georgia statement said. "Students and protesters must be allowed their full constitutional rights.”
The protest encampment at Emory follows the one at Columbia University in New York City that has been making national headlines this week, and which has inspired similar protest movements at campuses from California to New York to Boston and here in Georgia.
Students at Kennesaw State University executed a walkout on campus on Thursday, and on Wednesday, a protest rally was held at Georgia Tech.
"Columbia, NYU, Harvard, Yale, UC Berkeley, UT Austin, Georgia Tech," Ali, a former Georgia Tech student who was protesting on Wednesday, said. "They're all joining together. And I wanted this group to know that they're not alone, either."
A Kennesaw State student, Aya, also said, "Our research institute has many ties with defense contractors. I don't believe that many students here want their work to be used to murder innocent people."
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