Police at the University of Minnesota removed an anti-Israel protest encampment on its Twin Cities campus in Rep. Ilhan Omar’s district and arrested nine demonstrators. The university’s Department of Public Safety received reports of an encampment with tents on the Northrop Mall. Officers warned the protesters that they were in violation of university policy and state trespassing law as tents are not allowed on campus without a permit. The group had until 7 a.m. to disperse, and those who stayed were arrested without incident and taken to the Hennepin County jail on trespassing charges.
The university stated that it supports the rights of its community to demonstrate peacefully. Similar protests are occurring on campuses across the country, including Columbia University, New York University, and Yale University. Some universities have canceled in-person classes and made arrests due to these protests. Isra Hirsi, the daughter of Rep. Ilhan Omar, was among those arrested at Columbia University during a protest. Omar praised her daughter on social media for standing in solidarity with Palestinians facing what she described as a genocide. Hirsi stated that she had been suspended from Barnard College earlier that day.
Other encampments have taken over campuses at Columbia University and New York University in New York City, as well as Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. These protests have led to the cancellation of some in-person classes and arrests. Isra Hirsi, the daughter of U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., was among one of more than 100 demonstrators who were arrested during a protest at Columbia University last week. Omar praised her daughter in a post on social media following her arrest. The 21-year-old Hirsi had said that she had been suspended from Barnard College in New York City earlier that day for “standing in solidarity with Palestinians facing a genocide.”
The statement from the University of Minnesota emphasized that the campus supports and respects free speech through lawful protest. The campus protests reflect a broader trend of demonstrations and activism surrounding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, with similar protests occurring at other universities around the country. The protest encampment at the University of Minnesota was cleared out by police early Tuesday morning, with nine demonstrators arrested for trespassing. The university’s Department of Public Safety received reports of an encampment with tents on the Northrop Mall, leading to the police intervention.
