Police in Ann Arbor have intervened with Pro-Palestinian protesters at the University of Michigan.
Officers in riot gear approached the group on Tuesday morning. Additional police officers who arrived at the scene moved people from the encampment, which was set up in a large open area in the center of campus known as the Diag.
According to video on the scene, police have been using pepper spray to disperse the protesters, who have been seen washing out their eyes with water after being pepper sprayed.
Police move in on pro-Palestinian encampment at Michigan Diag
Eventually, the protesters were driven off campus and into the city of Ann Arbor, where they gathered later on Tuesday morning.
At around 7 a.m., University of Michigan President Santa J. Ono sent a letter to students and faculty, announcing the end of the encampment. This came after protesters refused to comply with requests to remove the external camp barriers, refrain from overloading power sources, and stop using open flames.
“The protesters refused to comply with these requests. That forced the university to take action and this morning, we removed the encampment,” Ono said in the email. “The disregard for safety directives was only the latest in a series of troubling events centered on an encampment that has always violated the rules that govern the Diag — especially the rules that ensure the space is available to everyone.”
Ono stated that the university supports the right to peaceful protest and people can protest “as they always have at the University of Michigan, so long as those protests don’t violate the rights of others and are consistent with university policies meant to ensure the safety of our community.”
Police raid encampment at the University of Michigan Diag
Protesters with the TAHIR Coalition have been camping out at the University of Michigan Diag since last month, calling on the university to divest investments from Israel.
Last week, students said they were asked to leave by school officials but they remained at the encampment. The encampment has been in place for about three weeks now, with the goal of raising awareness about the war in Gaza.
Additionally, last week, tensions between university regents and protesters escalated as the protesters targeted the homes of Board of Regents members.
This story was originally published by Scripps News Detroit.
