7 months ago
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Police made more than 40 arrests as pro-Palestinian protest encampments were dismantled Friday at the University of Pennsylvania and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, hours after police tear-gassed demonstrators and took down a similar camp at the University of Arizona.
The dismantling at Penn came around 5.30am local time, as campus and Philadelphia police moved in to remove protesters from an encampment that had been in place for over two weeks.
School officials said protesters were given warnings and the chance to leave without being detained. About 33 people, including students and faculty members, were among those arrested without incident and charged with defiant trespass, the school said.
In Cambridge, Massachusetts, video showed police roaming through the MIT encampment. Police in riot gear arrived around 4 am, encircled the camp and gave protesters about 15 minutes to leave. Ten students who remained were arrested, the university's prez said. A crowd outside the camp began gathering and chanting pro-Palestinian slogans but were dispersed by 6am. MIT earlier this week had started suspending dozens of students.
At the University of Arizona in Tucson, campus police in riot gear fired tear gas late Thursday at protesters before tearing down an encampment that included wood and plastic barriers on campus. The university said the encampment violated school policy but did not say whether any protesters had been arrested. The school also said that police vehicles were spiked, and that rocks and water bottles thrown at officers and university staff.
Tensions have ratcheted up in standoffs with protesters on campuses across the United States. The AP has recorded at least 72 instances since April 18. More than 2,800 people have been arrested so far. AP
