Protestors speak out on 17-hour-long U of I demonstration

URBANA, Ill. (WCIA) — A pro-Palestine protest on the University of Illinois campus began early Friday morning with no planned end. Demonstrators said they would leave when their demands were met or when they were forced to leave.

It all started at 5 a.m. when students pitched tents near Alma Mater as part of an “encampment” protest on college campuses nationwide. Students supporting Palestine called for the university to do the same.

“Divestment from the genocide,” one protestor said. “Divestment from the Palestinian occupation.”

“I mean, we are something like diversity. We have kids from like all over the world basically,” another protestor said. “So it’s really not surprising. Like this is happening to people’s home so they’re going to want to fight for it.”

Police broke up the protest in the morning, citing campus policies prohibiting camping tents and other “structures” from being erected on campus. One student was arrested after resisting police officers’ attempts to remove the tents.

In a statement, the university said, “Anyone who interferes with that removal is subject to consequences, including arrest when criminal laws are violated.”

But students came back hours later at 3 p.m., and in much greater numbers. They pitched another tent and locked arms to surround it.

“What’s happening here is a civil rights movement,” a protestor said. “It’s not antisemitic. Jewish people are at the forefront of these protests. This is like the Civil Rights Movement. It’s like the anti-war movement of the ’60s and ’70s.”

University of Illinois Police arrived first, going into the crowd to try and remove some of the structures. When they received pushback from protestors, they withdrew, called in backup from five other agencies and started a standoff.

But as law enforcement numbers grew, so did the number of protestors.

In a release, U of I Police called the demonstration an “unlawful assembly,” and U of I administrators said it included “unlawful and impermissible conduct by some.” They warned that protestors who remain at the scene face legal consequences like arrest and disciplinary consequences like suspension from the university.

“We are like severely dedicated individuals,” a protestor said. “We are passionate about the cause.”

Around 11 p.m., WCIA reporters at the protest site saw demonstrators starting to leave. They said they will reconvene on Saturday at the Spurlock Museum, a few blocks away from Alma Mater, to resume their protest.

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