PSU library occupation now ‘criminal behavior,’ not ‘free speech,’ city officials say

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Hours after protesters broke into the Portland State University library during a campus protest over the war in Gaza, Mayor Ted Wheeler and other city officials held an extraordinary press conference at 11 p.m. Monday.

Wheeler along with PPB Chief Bob Day, Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt and PSU President Ann Cudd addressed the media about the library occupation.

Each of the four leaders underscored two things: One, this is now a matter of criminal behavior and is no longer a free speech matter, and two, all the leaders are unified in their thoughts on how the protests have changed.

They encouraged the protesters — as many as 75 inside the library — to leave and resolve this peacefully. But they did not give a timeline before police would go in.

PPB Chief Bob Day said the primary enforcement will be PPB officers with PSU Campus Police, but they’ve also been in touch with their regional partners in Multnomah County and the Oregon State Police.

PSU President Ann Cudd said the protesters began gathering last Thursday and remained peaceful over the weekend. But by Monday morning, the “encampment has grown and has resulted in much more significant property damage and intimidation.”

Cudd said the protesters were asked to leave Monday afternoon but later the protesters broke into Millar Library.

Day said they’ve been “in constant communication” with PSU and the city. “Unfortunately tonight with the breaching of the library it has become a criminal event not a free speech event,” he said.

District Attorney Mike Schmidt said he was “disappointed to learn about the events at PSU,” but that the protests “crossed the line into criminal behavior.” He said his office will prosecute the cases as they come in and “felony charges could be filed.”

Mayor Wheeler said he and all the other leaders are unified in their thoughts on how to handle this.

“When they engage in criminal behavior, that is no longer a free speech matter,” Wheeler said.

Day said — and others echoed — the way to peacefully resolve this issue is for the protesters to leave the library and “simply go home.”

Earlier in the day

Earlier in the day, about 200 protesters gathered and marched along the Parks Blocks and set up encampments at PSU hours after organizers released a list of 11 demands on the leaders of Oregon’s 3rd-largest university.

Three of those 11 demands include some form of divestment between the university and Boeing. One calls for PSU campus police to be disarmed.

Around 7 p.m. Monday, the majority of the protesters had left the campus. But about 50-60 remained at what they called the “Gaza Solidarity Encampment” outside the PSU library. KOIN 6 News crews saw extensive graffiti and tagging on campus buildings.

KOIN 6 News also confirmed some of the protesters broke into the library.

KOIN 6 News will have more information as it develops.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KOIN.com.