Fort McMurray under evacuation alert due to out-of-control wildfire nearby

The Canadian Press
Sat, May 11, 2024 



FORT MCMURRAY, Alta. — An evacuation alert was issued in Alberta for Fort McMurray on Friday evening as an out-of-control wildfire burned nearby.

Residents in the northern oilsands hub and the nearby community of Saprae Creek were told to be ready to leave on short notice.

Jody Butz, regional fire chief and director of emergency management for the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo, said in a video update posted on Facebook late Friday that the two communities were not at risk and winds were pushing the wildfire away from Fort McMurray, he said.


Officials said the fire was 16 kilometres southwest of Fort McMurray as of 9 p.m. local time.

Alberta Wildfire said in the late afternoon that the wildfire was about two square kilometres in size, but by early evening that had grown to 10 square kilometres.

Butz said in the video update that fire behaviour had dropped with lower temperatures, and the spread was expected to slow as temperatures dropped further overnight.

"We expect things to look better tomorrow morning," he said.

Alberta Wildfire said four crews of wildland firefighters, three helicopters and airtankers were fighting the fire, to be joined by night-vision helicopters overnight.

Fort McMurray has a population of about 68,000. A wildfire there in 2016 destroyed roughly 2,400 homes.

Later Friday, the County of Grande Prairie issued an evacuation order for an area roughly 50 kilometres northeast of the city of the same name.

Alberta Wildfire estimated an out-of-control blaze there to be about 0.4 square kilometres in size. It said the the fire was about four kilometres east of the hamlet of Teepee Creek and burning away from the community.

Evacuees were told to register at the Pomeroy Hotel and Conference Centre in the city of Grande Prairie.

Just after midnight on Saturday, an evacuation order was also issued in the MD of Greenview Number 16, northeast of Grande Prairie.

The wildfire is burning north of Highway 43 and has jumped the Smokey River.

Everyone living in the North Goodwin area west of Range Road 21 and between Township Roads 741 and 734 is required to evacuate.

A evacuation centre has been set up in Valleyview, a town about an hour east of Grande Prairie.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 10, 2024.

The Canadian Press


Thousands in Fort Nelson, B.C., ordered to evacuate as wildfire threatens town

The Canadian Press
Fri, May 10, 2024 



FORT NELSON, B.C. — Thousands of people in northeast British Columbia were ordered to evacuate and flee south late Friday as a fast-growing wildfire neared the town of Fort Nelson.

The evacuation order was issued by the Northern Rockies Regional Municipality and Fort Nelson First Nations around 7:15 p.m., with residents being told to flee to Fort St. John, 380 kilometres away.

The communities were being threatened by an out-of-control wildfire that the municipality said was about 12 kilometres west of Fort Nelson, after it exploded in size late Friday.

Fort Nelson and the Fort Nelson Indian Reserve, in the far northeast corner of B.C. about 1,600 kilometres from Vancouver, have a combined population of about 3,000.

The B.C. Wildfire Service said the blaze measured eight square kilometres in size and was "highly visible" from the town, as groundcrews and nine bucketing helicopters battled to control it.

The service said that in addition to wildfire service firefighters, members of the local fire department and the RCMP were responding, and air tanker support had been assigned.

The municipality said the fire posed an "immediate threat to life, health and property."

"Residents are advised to evacuate the area immediately and begin driving south towards Fort St. John," it said.

"If you have a recreational vehicle, or your own vehicle, fuel stations are being planned along the route south."

The municipality said drivers should bring any additional passengers they could.

The fire grew rapidly late Friday. The wildfire service had said in a social media post at 5:25 p.m. that the suspected human-caused fire was half a square kilometre in size, but by 6:30 p.m. it was listed on the service's website as measuring four square kilometres, before that doubled again.

Less than two hours before the full evacuation was ordered, the municipality had been ordering residents in neighbourhoods west of the town to muster in the community's recreation centre.

That plan was swiftly overwhelmed.

The fire was fanned by a dry cold front that the wildfire service said had been expected to cross the Fort Nelson zone mid-afternoon Friday.

"While no lightning is expected during this time, wind gusts may exceed 70 kilometres per hour and shift direction rapidly," the service had said on Thursday.

It said the conditions were "likely to contribute to continued new growth on holdover fires from the 2023 season," but the blaze threatening Fort Nelson is a new fire, detected on Friday.

"The top priorities of the BC Wildfire Service are life, health and safety of responders and public. The Prince George Fire Centre is actively working with municipal partners, industry and other government ministries to ensure these priorities are achieved," it said.

The service said an incident management team would assume command in the fire zone.

DriveBC said the Alaska Highway, also known as Highway 97, had been shut due to the fire.

B.C. Premier David Eby said on social media platform X that he was "thinking of people evacuated from Fort Nelson and Fort Nelson First Nation as wildfire activity grows close to their communities."

"BC Wildfire Service is responding and we will be working around the clock to support people," he said.

The Yukon government said late Friday that the wildfire near Fort Nelson had caused a 911 and telecommunications outage in the territory affecting internet, landlines and cellphones. It said a geomagnetic storm was potentially affecting satellite phones as well.

Residents needing to report an emergency were told to go to the nearest RCMP station or detachment, health centre or hospital.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 10, 2024.

The Canadian Press

Trudeau points to fire fight, says Meta news ban degrades safety as it makes billions

The Canadian Press
Fri, May 10, 2024 



WEST KELOWNA, B.C. — Canada's dispute with Meta is a "test moment" for the country to stand against the social media giant that's making billions off people, but taking no responsibility for the well-being of communities it profits from, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Friday.

Trudeau made his comments in West Kelowna, one of several B.C. communities involved in evacuations of thousands of people last summer, while information about wildfires and escape routes were blocked on Meta's Facebook platform.

He called Meta an "irresponsible web giant," that had previously been making a huge profit sharing information from local journalists who worked hard to make sure people were properly informed.

"This is a test moment where countries are going to have to realize that either we stand up for journalism and the profession faced with internet giants that refuse to actually participate in it, or we bow down to them and allow them to make billions more dollars, while degrading the safety, well-being and communities that thrive in our democracy."

Meta has blocked Canadian news from Facebook and Instagram over the federal government’s Online News Act, which seeks compensation for news outlets whose stories are used on the social media feeds.

Trudeau said he knows there are many people trying to figure out ways to keep everyone informed, especially in emergency situations, but countries need to stand up for journalism.

He noted his government had the same disagreement with Google, but the company "stepped up" with $100 million to make sure that local journalism was thriving.

B.C. Premier David Eby announced last month that the province had worked out an agreement with Meta and had received assurances that it would work with B.C. emergency officials to deliver and amplify public information in case of natural disasters such as wildfires.

Meta began blocking Canadian news content on its platforms in August just before fires swept through B.C.'s southern Interior.

Trudeau was in West Kelowna last August, just days after a wildfire destroyed hundreds of homes.

On Friday, the prime minister said he met with mayors and fires chiefs of those same communities, along with a number of families who lost homes in the B.C. Interior and who are still impacted by the situation.

“We know from the forecasts in Western and Northern Canada, because of the dry winter … it is likely to be a very bad forest fire season," he said during a news conference at the West Kelowna firehall.

He said lessons learned last year would help minimize the impacts of the fires expected this summer.

B.C.'s snowpack is at the lowest level ever recorded and drought levels are already high in the province's northeast.

Drought conditions in B.C. stretch back to 2022, and forecasters have said the province is heading into this summer with "multi-year" precipitation deficits

West Kelowna Fire Chief Jason Brolund met with Trudeau before the news conference on Friday with some requests.

Brolund became the face of the B.C. wildfires last summer as he described the battle against the blazes and the loss they incurred. The chief later spoke to a United Nations conference on climate change, saying the firefight was the toughest three days of his career as entire neighbourhoods burned.

He said fire crews were facing blazes that were nearly impossible for them to defeat, partly because of changing climate that made it easier for the fires to burn.

Brolund said he thanked Trudeau for doubling the tax credit for volunteer firefighters, which adds an extra $425 for each volunteer, but he wants that to be even larger.

He said he asked him to reinstate the joint emergency preparedness grants for training and equipment for fire departments, and they want the fire smart program rolled out on a national scale to have measurable impacts in communities.

"I felt like his ears were wide open," Brolund said of Trudeau.

Temperatures could reach record levels in B.C.'s Interior this weekend, and Brolund said they're watching the weather closely.

June is historically the rainiest month and fire officials were hoping to get that this year, the chief said.

"If we don't, our departments are ready. We have new equipment, we have new training, we have firefighters in place," he said.

"What we have the most of is a sense in spirit of co-operation among the region. And we saw that today when the mayors and fire chiefs came together to share our experience with the prime minister."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 10, 2024.

Brieanna Charlebois, The Canadian Press

Women’s participation in ‘naked festival’ a sign of how aging is forcing changes to male-centric Japanese traditions

Himari Semans and Chris Lau, CNN
Fri, May 10, 2024 at 6:58 p.m. MDT·6 min read


With a history spanning more than 1,200 years, “hadaka matsuri,” or the naked festival, is Japanese masculinity on full display. Quite literally.

Across Japan, in freezing winter, thousands of men strip naked — except for a delicate piece of crotch-covering white loincloth — to jostle around their local shrines. Each participant tries to get as close as possible to a man playing the role of “shin-otoko,” a god-man who wards off bad luck.

On one hand, the ritual illustrates Japan’s steadfast respect for tradition and cultural heritage. But on the other, its insistence on excluding women — only men are considered pure in the traditional Japanese culture — bears all the hallmarks of one of the country’s greatest modern struggles: gender inequality.


To this day, men hold the country’s highest offices and most of the top jobs at prestigious private firms.

Last year, the World Economic Forum ranked Japan 125th in its Global Gender Gap Index report, far below other G7 countries such as Germany, Britain and the United States. It was just a few spots ahead of India and Saudi Arabia — both notoriously poor performers on gender equality.

Some women in Japan still battle deep-rooted cultural expectations that require them to take the role of “shufu,” or housewife, experts say. Meanwhile, the country’s painstakingly long work hours and male-centric institutional culture conspire further against women who are already burdened disproportionately by more family duties than men.

But in the naked festival, women have recently found hope. Even the country’s most entrenched male-centric tradition was recently subverted by another wrinkle in the national fabric: a shrinking population.

Men strip naked — except for a delicate piece of crotch-covering white loincloth — to take part in the naked festival at Konomiya Shrine on February 22, 2024. - Christopher Gallagher/Reuters

In February, as the number of male participants dwindled, the country’s oldest hadaka matsuri, at the Konomiya Shrine in central Japan, welcomed 41 women to take part for the first time.

“One reason to permit women to participate in such a traditional festival is due to the shortage of men,” said Mikiko Eto, emerita professor who specializes in gender politics at Hosei University in Tokyo.

“The number of young men is declining rapidly. Women should be welcome because of shortage of male participants, so we’ve been very welcome.”

Haruhiko Nishio, 57, a member of an alumni club for shin-otoko involved in organizing the hadaka matsuri at the Konomiya Shrine, recalled: “Last year, the festival had only 1,700 attendees, only one-fifth of pre-pandemic crowds.”

He said women had never been explicitly banned from taking part, but such mass participation was a first.

The female group, known as Enyukai, was assigned a minor role on the day (and the women agreed they should keep their clothes on). But for those who took part, it was deeply symbolic.

“Japan can’t help but put men at the front and women in the back. I want to unleash female power from now on,” participant Atsuko Tamakoshi, 56, told CNN.

Women — donning happi, a traditional festive coat — are responsible for carrying a bamboo offering during the naked festival at Konomiya Shrine on February 22, 2024. - Chris Gallagher/Reuters

For the organizer, it may be a practical decision. But vice president of Enyukai, Ayaka Suzuki, 36, said: “It’s about gender equality.”

It does not end there, scholars say. With no easy solutions in sight, Japan’s declining population may not only reshape the millennium-old festival, but also transform the world’s fourth-biggest economy.

“The impact of an aging society is very important for the Japanese economy. You need more working people, more active people. So why are women still at home? Let women participate in the labor market,” Eto said.

“Aging society is a chance for women to achieve gender equality because our society needs more able people,” she said.
‘Now or never’

Japan’s number of births dropped for the eighth consecutive year in 2023, plunging 5.1% from the previous year to an all-time low of 758,631, according to the Ministry of Health.

With a fertility rate hovering around 1.3 in recent years — far below the rate of 2.1 required to maintain a stable population (Japan has very low levels of immigration) — the Japanese government has long described its mission to boost births as a question of “now or never.”

Eto, from Hosei University, said the consequences of a declining population aren’t confined to small towns or traditional rituals.

Japan’s workforce totaled 66 million people in 2023, including foreign nationals, according to a report released in January this year by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). But the figure will plunge by more than half to about 32 million by the turn of the century if Japan’s fertility rate continues to stagnate, the report predicted.

And as the population crisis spirals, the government and many businesses have started asking why women are still bound by social expectation to stay home, Eto said.
Amplified voices

There have been improvements, according to Eto, though — as with the changes to the hadaka matsuri — the motives may have been more pragmatic than progressive.

Many businesses are promoting greater gender equality in workplaces to make women feel more welcome. The government has also introduced a string of initiatives to lessen the burdens on mothers, including a vision to encourage 85% of male workers to take paternity leave by 2030, for a more even division of domestic labor.

Examples of women leaders include Mitsuko Tottori, who took the helm of Japan Airlines on April 1 to become its first female president and CEO. Seasoned politician Yoko Kamikawa was appointed foreign minister last September, becoming the first woman to take up the role in two decades.

But in general, women’s representation in politics and management remains unsatisfactorily low, experts note. Only five of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s 20-member cabinet are women and, as of 2023, less than 13% of senior and leadership posts in businesses were held by women, according to the Global Gender Gap report.

A lack of innovative policies, such as quota systems for women adopted by some European countries, is holding Japan back, Eto said.

Kaori Katada, an associate social science professor at Hosei University, said Japan’s improvement on gender equality has been incremental and nuanced. While women are given more opportunities, she said, bias and stereotypes persist.

Women are mostly confined to junior positions and caretaking jobs, such as kindergarten care and nursing, and they are generally paid less than their male counterparts, she said.

“(This means) women have to take care of the house and children, which forces them into part-time work. They cannot accept high-responsibility management positions because they need to look after children too,” she said.

And not all social institutions are ready to embrace women as much as the hadaka matsuri at Konomiya Shrine, as the handful of women who try to set foot in the ring of sumo wrestling, another male-dominated sport, can testify.

Hiyori Kon, 26, a top amateur sumo wrestler and the protagonist in the 2018 Netflix documentary “Little Miss Sumo,” told CNN she is often confronted by disapproval, reminding her that Japan has a long way to go on gender equality. Once, she said, her male colleague told her: “If you continue sumo, you won’t be able to marry, so you better quit soon.”

World's Largest Vacuum to Suck Carbon From Atmosphere Turns On for First Time

Victor Tangermann
Sat, May 11, 2024





Suck It, Carbon!

A new carbon capture facility that claims to be the biggest of its kind in the world began quite literally sucking the carbon from the atmosphere this week.

The plant, called "Mammoth" by Swiss company Climeworks, kicked off operations in Iceland on Wednesday, CNN reports, grabbing the available carbon from the air and injecting it deep below the surface to lock it up permanently.

Best of all, the operation is entirely powered by the island nation's geothermal energy, allowing it to put a dent in the abundance of carbon dioxide polluting our planet's atmosphere without adding to the problem.


However, whether direct air capture (DAC) plants are our best bet to ward off an impending climate catastrophe remains a heated debate, with experts arguing they're merely a distraction from the root causes of climate change.
Making a Dent

Giant fans at Climeworks' Mammoth plant suck in the surrounding air, scrubbing it of carbon and pumping it deep into the ground where it turns into stone.

As its name suggests, the plant is absolutely enormous: ten times bigger than its three-year-old predecessor called Orca.

At full capacity, the company claims the facility can suck 36,000 tons of carbon from the atmosphere annually, the equivalent of taking 7,800 combustion-engine cars off the road per year.

But the process isn't cheap. While Climeworks didn't reveal the exact cost, each ton of carbon costs close to $1,000 to remove, CNN reports. To make the process economically feasible, that cost would have to sink closer to $100 a ton, something that Climeworks co-founder Jan Wurzbacher says would be possible by around 2050.

The idea has also caught on in the US, with startup Occidental announcing plans to build an even bigger DAC facility called STRATOS last year, which is designed to suck up 500,000 tons of CO2 per year.
Squeezing the Last Drop

However, experts remain skeptical that such facilities will be the key to fending off climate change. Many of them claim it's a dangerous distraction from far more glaring issues.

Even more worryingly, Big Oil has already adopted the concept with the hopes of extracting even more oil from the captured carbon — in the eyes of many, a step in the wrong direction.

"One of the concerns that we have is that folks are going to try and use this as an offset for continued fossil fuel production," nonprofit Carbon180 executive director Erin Burns told Axios last year, "when largely the role of carbon removal is to address legacy emissions."

"And we are seeing oil companies talk about this being a way to offset continued oil production," she added. "That's concerning."

More on carbon capture: Scientists Say New Material Can Suck Carbon Out of Atmosphere Faster Than Trees

The world’s largest direct carbon capture plant just went online

It can capture around 36,000 tons of CO2 per year, but that’s just a drop in the bucket.

Lawrence Bonk·Contributing Reporter
Fri, May 10, 2024

Climeworks


Swiss start-up Climeworks has done it again. The company just opened the world’s largest carbon capture plant in Iceland, dwarfing its own record of how much CO2 it can pull from the air. The company’s previous record-holding carbon capture plant, Orca, sucks around 4,000 tons of CO2 from the atmosphere per year, but the new plant can handle nearly ten times that, as reported by The Washington Post.

The plant’s called Mammoth and boasts 72 industrial fans that can pull 36,000 tons of CO2 from the air each year. Just like with Orca, the CO2 isn’t recycled. It’s stored underground and eventually trapped in stone, permanently (within reason) removing it from the environment. The plant’s actually located on a dormant volcano, so it’ll make a great hideout for a James Bond villain should it ever cease operations.

The location was chosen for its proximity to the Hellisheidi geothermal energy plant, which is used to power the facility's fans and heat chemical filters to extract CO2 with water vapor. After extraction, the CO2 is separated from the steam, compressed and dissolved in water. Finally, it’s pumped 2,300 feet underground into volcanic basalt. This compound reacts with the magnesium, calcium and iron in the rock to form crystals, which become solid reservoirs of CO2. It’s pretty nifty technology.

However, it’s not the end-all solution to climate change. It’s barely a blip. For the world to achieve "carbon neutrality" by 2050, "we should be removing something like six to 16 billion tons of CO2 per year from the air," said Climeworks founder Jan Wurzbacher, according to reporting by CBS News.

Therein lies the problem. This facility, the largest of its kind by a wide margin, can capture up to 36,000 tons of CO2 from the air each year, but that’s just 0.0006 percent of what’s needed to meet the minimum annual removal threshold as indicated by Wurzbacher. There are other plants, of course, but all of them combined don’t make a serious dent in what’s required to pull us from the brink.

To that end, Wurzbacher has pleaded with other companies to take up the cause. He says that Climeworks has a goal of surpassing millions of tons captured per year by 2030 and a billion by 2050. The company’s chief technology officer, Carlos Haertel, told 60 Minutes that scaling up the process globally is possible, but requires political will to rally behind the initiative.

The Biden administration recently committed $4 billion to jumpstart the industry here in the states and earmarked $1.2 billion for a pair of large-scale projects. The US Department of Energy also started a program called Carbon Negative Shot, with a goal of fostering the development of budget-friendly carbon capture technology.

The method of carbon capture deployed by Climeworks is just one of many approaches. These processes range from stacks of limestone blocks that absorb CO2 like a sponge to giant hot air balloons that freeze and trap the chemical compound. Restoring forests is another option, which is something companies like Apple and Goldman Sachs have experimented with. Which one is best? All of them together deployed at global scale. Whatever it takes. Climate change isn’t fooling around.

B.C. halts new jade mining in northwest, five-year transition for existing operations

DARK GREEN JADE

The Canadian Press
Fri, May 10, 2024 



VICTORIA — British Columbia has prohibited mining activities on new jade tenures in the northwest, while setting a five-year wind-down period for existing operators.

A statement from the Ministry of Energy and Mines says officials have been working closely with First Nations to address concerns about the effects of jade mining on sensitive alpine environments in the area near Dease Lake.

It says an order under the Environment and Land Use Act was necessary to protect the area from further harm and disturbance.

The ministry says mining activities on new tenures must stop immediately, while existing tenure holders may continue operating for five years with "enhanced regulatory requirements," allowing them "adequate time to wind down."

In addition to environmental harms, the ministry says jade mining has posed significant challenges when it comes to permitting, compliance and enforcement in northwestern B.C., where many sites are only accessible by helicopter.

The province says the order is limited to jade mining in that region, and it does not affect other kinds of mining or jade tenures elsewhere in B.C.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 10, 2024.

The Canadian Press

Gaza campus protests: what are students’ free speech rights and what can universities do?

Suzanne Whitten, Lecturer in Political Theory and Philosophy, 

Queen's University Belfast
Fri, May 10, 2024 a

Students expressing solidarity with Palestinians and protesting Israel’s war in Gaza have set up encampments on campuses around the UK. Around 15 encampments have emerged in Oxford, Cambridge, Edinburgh, Warwick Manchester and others. They’ve also emerged in other countries including France and Ireland.

Broadly, students are calling for transparency over and divestment from universities’ financial links with Israeli companies (particularly those involved in the arms industry). They are demanding university leaders cut ties with Israeli universities, increase resources (including scholarships for Palestinian students and make long-term commitments relating to the rebuilding of higher education in Palestine.

The encampments follow similar action at more than 140 universities in the US. There, scenes of police arresting protesters have sparked intense debate about when (if ever) it is permissible to limit the free expression of students.

Read more: US student Gaza protests: five things that have been missed

Universities have a difficult balance to strike between protecting student speech rights and ensuring campus safety.

In the US, public universities (as “arms of government”) are prevented from interfering with free speech under the constitution’s first amendment. While this doesn’t apply in the same way to private universities, most have agreed to uphold policies that closely resemble it. These rights must be balanced against reasonable considerations about the time, place and manner of the speech, as well as civil rights laws against harassment.

The UK does not have the same free speech protections, but many university leaders have made clear that their institutions support freedom of expression. They have reminded students of their duties to ensure that protest activities remain lawful and do not risk the safety of others.

They have encouraged students to follow university policy, and be mindful of other students, staff and members of the public. This generally means that they should not obstruct their access to work or get in the way of their education.

Rishi Sunak met with 17 vice-chancellors and representatives from the Union of Jewish Students (UJS), seeking reassurance that any antisemitism arising from the protests would be swiftly dealt with. And the education secretary, Gillian Keegan, called for vice-chancellors to “show leadership” to ensure that campuses are a safe place for all students.
Are the protests legal?

Protests that take place on university campuses in the UK are considered legal exercises of the right to freedom of expression. The rights of freedom of expression and freedom of assembly are protected by the European Convention on Human Rights, which is enshrined in UK law under the Human Rights Act.

These rights are further reinforced by a 1986 UK education law, which requires universities to take “reasonably practicable” steps to protect freedom of speech on campus. This includes permitting and facilitating the right to protest.

There are notable exceptions. In England and Wales, speech that incites violence is considered unlawful, as is harassment on the basis of protected characteristics (race, religion, sexuality and so on). The law is slightly different in Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Expressed support for one of the UK government’s 79 proscribed organisations (including Hezbollah and Hamas) is also criminalised by the Terrorism Act.

When it comes to semi-permanent occupations, duties to facilitate freedom of expression will be in tension with universities’ obligations to keep students and staff safe. Sally Mapstone, the president of the vice-chancellors’ group Universities UK, said universities “may need to take action” if encampments interfere with the ability to take exams, graduate or go about other business.

In the past, universities have ended occupations by applying for a “possession order” from the High Court. This can lead to students being removed by bailiffs, as happened in March 2023 when the University of Bristol evicted students taking part in a rent strike.

In April 2024, Bristol Students Occupy for Palestine ended a four-week occupation of the university’s executive management building after they were served with a possession order.

Any universities that take this route would need to show that they have considered protestors’ freedom of expression and assembly rights, and that these have been outweighed by other competing obligations.

The encampments could also risk breaching the Police Crime Sentencing and Courts Act and the Public Order Act, introduced in 2022 and 2023. These controversial laws limit noisy protests and make it unlawful to cause “public nuisance”.

They also ban protests that cause serious disruption to the life of the community, including by tunnelling, locking-on and taking part in slow-walking protests. Again, any interventions (from either the university or the police) must be weighed against the freedom of expression rights of protesters.
Successful negotiations

So far, some of the protests have been successful. Management at Goldsmiths, University of London agreed to protesters’ demands, including investing in a number of scholarships for Palestinian students and reviewing the university’s investment policy. The encampment at Trinity College Dublin has ended after the university agreed to divest from “Israeli companies that have activities in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and appear on the UN blacklist in this regard”.

The University of York has also agreed to divest from weapons manufacturers. Other universities have established meetings between protesters and management, though most negotiations are still in the early stages.

Apart from upholding their legal obligations, universities should maintain open lines of dialogue with protesters. Doing so is not only essential from a safety perspective, but ensures that all are able to exercise their rights effectively. So far, most universities have been clear about their commitment to free expression, acknowledging lawful protest as a fundamental component of university life.

The free exchange of ideas will often make some people feel uncomfortable. But speech which harasses or threatens others is not only unlawful, it prevents them from taking part in university life as equals. Universities must also offer accessible channels of complaint for students and staff who have experienced abuse from others on campus.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

The Conversation

Suzanne Whitten does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

 What's the history of 'outside agitators'? Here's what to know about the label and campus protests

GRAHAM LEE BREWER
Sat, May 11, 2024 a
    

Historically, when students at American universities and colleges protest — from the Civil Rights Movement to Black Lives Matter — there's a common refrain that “outside agitators” are to blame. College administrators and elected officials have often pointed to community members joining protests to dismiss the demands of student protesters.

Experts say it's a convenient way for officials to delegitimize the motivations of some political movements and justify calling in law enforcement to stop direct actions that are largely nonviolent and engaging in constitutionally protected speech.

“This tactic shifts focus away from genuine grievances and portray radical movements as orchestrated by opportunistic outsiders," said Shanelle Matthews, a professor of anthropology and interdisciplinary studies at the City University of New York and a former communications director for the Movement for Black Lives.


Over the last few weeks, students on campuses across the country have built encampments, occupied buildings and led protests to call on colleges and universities to divest their endowments from companies profiting from the Israel-Hamas war. Several college and city leaders have pointed to the threat of outsiders when describing the protests — and some have responded by cancelling or shifting plans for commencement ceremonies.

Here's what to know about the phrase “outside agitators” used during historic student movements.

THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT (1960s-1970s)

Protest movements are typically comprised of local community members and organizers from other parts of the state or country that work together toward a common goal. In the 1960s, state and local officials often focused on this hallmark of community organizing and suggested that civil rights protests were organized by people outside of a given community.

In 1960, a group of Black college students took out a full page ad in Atlanta newspapers called “An Appeal for Human Rights” that expressed solidarity with students everywhere protesting for civil rights. Segregationist politician and then-Georgia Gov. Ernest Vandiver suggested it was created by foreigners and called it a calculated attempt “to breed dissatisfaction, discontent, discord and evil."

“It did not sound like it was prepared in any Georgia school or college; nor in fact did it read like it was written even in this country,” he told the press.

The idea that outside agitators were involved in civil rights protests became so common that Martin Luther King Jr. spoke out against the label in his letter from the Birmingham Jail in 1963.

“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere,” King wrote. “Never again can we afford to live with the narrow, provincial ‘outside agitator’ idea. Anyone who lives inside the United States can never be considered an outsider anywhere within its bounds.”

Former President Richard Nixon hoped to tie the 1970 shooting deaths of Kent State students by the National Guard to outside agitators, but the FBI was unable to provide such a link. The students had been protesting the Vietnam War.

During the Civil Rights Movement, the label was used as a weapon against community members who spoke up or provided support to protesters and organizers, said Dylan C. Penningroth, an author and historian who teaches law and history at the University of California, Berkeley.

“It delegitimizes internal dissent against the status quo. So anyone who speaks up against the status quo, whatever that is, is by definition an outsider,” he said.

It also ignores the fact that local civil rights organizers often take cues from other protest movements, Penningroth said, and building solidarity with others around the country is often an important part of enacting change.

BLACK LIVES MATTER (2013-present)

Nearly a half-century later, the 2014 killing of Michael Brown by a police officer in Ferguson, Missouri, sparked widespread protests against police brutality.

Again, outside agitators were frequently invoked and blamed for destruction, looting and the burning of buildings.

The same language was used to describe protests in the wake of the 2020 killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police, which resulted in over 10,000 arrests nationwide.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz suggested that 80% of those who participated in the unrest that followed in Minneapolis were from out of state. But an Associated Press analysis found that 41 of the 52 people cited with protest-related arrests had Minnesota driver’s licenses.

PRO-PALESTINIAN PROTESTS (2024)

The number of people arrested in connection with protests on college and university campuses against Israel’s war in Gaza has now topped 2,800. The Associated Press has tallied at least 70 incidents on at 54 schools since the protests began at Columbia on April 18.

Official have used outside agitator rhetoric in a handful of examples nationwide. After dozens of students were arrested in May 4 demonstrations at the University of Virginia, a top law enforcement official suggested outsiders had “bull horns to direct the protesters on how to flank our officers.”

“We’re receiving intelligence that outside agitators are starting to get involved in these campus protests,” Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares told Fox News on May 6.

In anti-war protests on campuses at Atlanta’s Emory University, Boston’s Northeastern University, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, school officials and law enforcement have made inaccurate claims about the presence of non-students.

NYC PRO-PALESTINIAN PROTESTS (2024)

On April 30, New York City police officers in riot gear entered Columbia University’s campus and cleared an encampment, arresting more than 100 people. New York City Mayor Eric Adams has repeatedly cited the presence of “outside agitators” to justify the use of police force.

“There is a movement to radicalize young people and I’m not going to wait until it’s done and all of a sudden acknowledge the existence of it,” Adams said at a May 1 news conference.

Pressed for specifics, though, the mayor and police officials have had little to say. Adams has repeatedly said that he decided police intervention was necessary in Columbia’s demonstrations after learning that the husband of one “agitator” was “arrested for federal terrorism.”

But the woman referenced by the mayor wasn’t on Columbia’s campus that week, isn’t among the protesters who were arrested and has not been accused of any crime.

Nahla Al-Arian told The Associated Press she was visiting the city last month and briefly stopped by the campus to see the protest encampment. She also said Adams was mischaracterizing the facts about her husband, a former computer engineering professor who was charged two decades ago with giving illegal support to the Palestinian Islamic Jihad group in the 1980s and 1990s.

Students involved in the Columbia protests have told The AP it is true that some people not affiliated with the university have been on campus and played an active role in the demonstrations, but they have vehemently denied that those allies were leading or “radicalizing” the students.

“While it's true that people with nefarious intentions crash protests, it's the exception rather than the rule,” Matthews said. “Given that, people should be wary of this narrative.”

____

AP writers R.J. Rico in Atlanta, Steve LeBlanc in Boston, David B. Caruso in New York and Jim Vertuno in Austin contributed.




UK

Vice-chancellors warn Rishi Sunak over non-student ‘agitators’

Nick Gutteridge
Thu, May 9, 2024

Gillian Keegan, Education Secretary, and Rishi Sunak meet vice-chancellors in Downing Street - Carl Court/Pool via REUTERS


Leading universities have raised concerns that non-student “agitators” are infiltrating on-campus protests over Gaza to “stir division”.

Vice-chancellors sounded the alarm over the presence of extremist groups at the demonstrations in a meeting with Rishi Sunak.

They were summoned to Downing Street by the Prime Minister on Thursday for talks on the spread of pro-Palestinian encampments. The meeting came after the University of Cambridge rejected calls to clear a pro-Gaza camp on the lawn outside King’s College.

The US-style protests, which have seen students occupy the grounds of universities across the country, have been raging for five days. They have sparked concerns about rising anti-semitism and the intimidation of Jewish students, though the organisers insist their aims are peaceful.

At the gathering Mr Sunak warned universities that they must “root out” protesters on their grounds who “incite violence or glorify terrorism”.

Vice-chancellors in turn voiced concerns the demonstrations are being infiltrated by non-students to whip up hatred against Jewish people.

“Concerns were raised around non-student ‘agitators’ infiltrating on-campus protests in order to stir division,” Downing Street said after the talks.

The heads of 17 top universities including Oxford and Cambridge, which have both been gripped by controversial protests, were at the meeting.

Representatives from the Union of Jewish Students and the Community Security Trust, which monitors incidents of anti-semitism, were also present.

But the scandal-hit National Union of Students was not invited after ministers suspended cooperation in 2022 over allegations of anti-semitism.

Mr Sunak told the vice-chancellors they must take “personal responsibility for protecting Jewish students” and adopt a “zero tolerance” approach to anti-Semitism.

He made the remarks after earlier telling his Cabinet that there had been “an unacceptable rise in anti-Semitism on our university campuses” in recent times.

Tom Tugendhat, the security minister, warned university leaders that “freedom of speech didn’t extend to the right to abuse or intimidate”.

He added that he was “personally committed” to supporting institutions that needed help managing the protests and rooting out extremists.
Cambridge rebuke

His remarks appeared to be a rebuke to Cambridge, which justified its decision not to clear the King’s College camp on free-speech grounds.

Mr Sunak also urged vice-chancellors to discipline student protesters who crossed the line and said they should call in the police if necessary.

“He was clear they should take disciplinary action if students are found to have been guilty of anti-Semitism or glorification of terrorism or any form of intimidation or violence,” the Prime Minister’s spokesman said.

“The police already have powers such as if people are engaging in illegal activity or acting on behalf of a proscribed group, they have legal powers to take action.

“Universities themselves would want to identify if there are non-student agitators engaging on university premises.”

He added that the demonstrations “must happen in a way that does not intimidate Jewish students and does not incite violence or glorify terrorism, and clearly universities should be held to account for dealing with these protests appropriately”.

The encampment at Newcastle University as protesters enjoy a morning lie-in - Raoul Dixon / NNP

Vice-chancellors told Mr Sunak they were ready to use eviction orders to clear out protesters where they were in clear breach of university rules.

The meeting came as Prof Dame Sally Mapstone, the head of Universities UK, said institutions “may need to take action” if the protests interfere with campus life.

She said there should not be an “automatic” presumption that the camps should be cleared and that decisions should be made based on the behaviour of the protesters.

“Where there is clear evidence that encampments are interfering with good university business and with the rights of students and staff to go about their business – to take exams, to do their degree shows, to graduate - then universities may need to take action,” she said.
Lisa Fithian

Meanwhile, the mayor of New York Eric Adams warned that “outside agitators” were infiltrating the pro-Palestinian demonstrations at Columbia University and released a video of “protest consultant” Lisa Fithian.

She has been arrested between 80 and 100 times having supported everything from anti-Iraq War demos to Occupy Wall Street.

The president of Columbia University said the protests were made worse by “external forces” and “those from outside our community”.

Baroness Shafik, a British-American peer and former civil servant, called for universities to “heal and unify” after weeks of protests and encampments that have often ended in clashes with the police.

She said the protests had been exacerbated by people from outside the university that had whipped up hate speech and anti-Semitism and held separate demonstrations outside Columbia’s gates in New York.

“It would be a mistake to think that a small group of students with connections to the Arab world drove these protests,” she wrote in an article for the Financial Times.

“What I saw was a broad representation of young people of every ethnic and religious background — passionate, intelligent and committed.

“Unfortunately, the actions and anti-Semitic comments of some — especially among those from outside our community — stirred fear and discomfort."

Demonstrators line up behind makeshift shields as police prepare to advance on them on the UCLA campus, Thursday, May 2, 2024, in Los Angeles. 

AP Photo/Ethan Swope,

Map: Where university protesters have been arrested across the United States

Alex Leeds Matthews, Krystina Shveda, Amy O'Kruk, Renée Rigdon and Lou Robinson, CNN
Fri, May 10, 2024

Map: Where university protesters have been arrested across the United States


As pro-Palestinian protests have erupted on college campuses nationwide, protesters — including students and faculty — continue to be arrested since the first demonstrators were detained at Columbia University three weeks ago. Nearly 200 protesters were arrested on May 7, the highest number of arrests in a day this week, according to a CNN review of university and law enforcement statements. April 30 saw the most arrests since protests began, with nearly 400 arrests.

More than 2,600 people have been arrested on college and university campuses since April 18 as schools prepare for spring commencement ceremonies, according to CNN’s review. The University of Southern California, where nearly 100 protesters were arrested April 24, canceled its primary commencement event. Protesters have been arrested on more than 50 campuses across at least 25 states and the District of Columbia. Many other schools have experienced protests without arrests.

Protest demands vary from campus to campus, but a major focus is that universities divest from companies with financial ties to Israel amid its war with Hamas. There have also been counter-protests, resulting in clashes at UCLA.

CNN is monitoring campus protests and will continue to update this map with any new arrests.

College Campus Protests: Students Arrested May Now Face Criminal Cases

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg , Ethan Corey, Jerry Iannelli, Meg O’Connor

TEEN VOGUE
Fri, May 10, 2024 


ETIENNE LAURENT/Getty Images

This story was originally published by The Appeal.

The Appeal is updating this tracker with new arrests and data on Thursdays.

American college students and staff are being arrested and brutalized by law enforcement across the U.S. for protesting Israel’s ongoing assault on the Gaza Strip. In moves that echo the repression of Vietnam War protesters more than 50 years ago, politicians and school administrators have sent police and state troopers on college campuses from New York to Texas to violently remove people camping on university grounds.

Based on The Appeal’s survey of local news reports and student newspapers, police have so far made nearly 3,000 arrests.

According to a nationwide review by The Appeal, students and their allies have built protest encampments or staged sit-ins on more than 100 college campuses across 39 states and the District of Columbia during the past few weeks. Protesters are demanding an end to U.S. military aid to Israel, that their schools divest from Israeli companies, and that Israel cease its attacks on Gaza, which have killed tens of thousands of Palestinians in what many humanrightsexperts and international organizations have called a genocide.

In many cases, the state has responded to those concerns with threats or outright violence—putting snipers on the roof of Indiana University, tear gassing students in Virginia, and physically assaulting people in Austin. The NYPD reportedly fired a gun inside a Columbia University campus building.

Los Angeles Police Department officers shot protesters in the face and chest with rubber bullets, sending several to the hospital, the Los Angeles Times reported. One demonstrator said on social media that he received 11 staples and four stitches in his head after police shot him in the face with a projectile. In New York, NYPD officers were photographed throwing a student down a flight of stairs. NYPD officers also sent several protesters to the hospital.

In Los Angeles, a crowd of Israel supporters violently attacked students at the University of California, Los Angeles encampment shows while police and campus security stood by, according to video footage captured by journalists present on Apr. 30. The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) confirmed there were no arrests that evening.

The next night, LAPD, California Highway Patrol, and other law-enforcement agencies fired rubber bullets at protesters, destroyed tents and other belongings, and arrested at least 209 pro-Palestinian demonstrators.

Despite peacefully protesting, students across the country still face severe consequences, including potential suspensions, evictions, expulsions, and criminal prosecutions. The latter depends on local prosecutors (or, in some cases, municipal city attorneys) who often have broad leeway to file—or drop—charges after someone is arrested.

New York Police Department officers have arrested more than 600 protesters in Manhattan alone—almost a fourth of the national total. Yet Manhattan’s top prosecutor, Alvin Bragg, has not responded to multiple requests for comment regarding how he will handle the deluge of cases.

At least 86 different prosecutors—and 31 smaller city-level offices—are responsible for prosecuting crimes on the various campuses. The Appeal asked prosecutors’ and city attorneys’ offices in every jurisdiction that includes a university encampment if they plan to prosecute or dismiss charges against protesters.

Forty-three offices responded. As of May 8, only four prosecutors said they would not charge people for peacefully protesting.

“This office is not interested in prosecuting people for exercising their First Amendment rights,” a spokesperson for Sam Bregman, the prosecutor for Bernalillo County, New Mexico, stated. Bregman’s jurisdiction includes the University of New Mexico’s Albuquerque campus, where police arrested 16 people for trespassing and wrongful use of public property on Apr. 29.

In Cook County, Illinois—where Chicago police recently arrested 68 protesters at the Art Institute of Chicago for trespassing—the county’s top prosecutor also told The Appeal she would not prosecute individuals for charges related to peaceful protest.

“The Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office recognizes peaceful protesting as a fundamental First Amendment Right,” state’s attorney Kim Foxx’s office said in an email. “Established in 2020, our Protest-Related Charging Policy ensures that individuals engaging in peaceful protests will not face prosecution.”

Matthew Van Houten, the prosecutor overseeing Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, offered a similar statement.

“As a general policy, I have stated that the Tompkins County DA’s Office will not prosecute students, faculty, and other demonstrators who are arrested during protests,” he said via email.

In Ulster County, New York, where police arrested 133 people for trespassing at the State University of New York at New Paltz, District Attorney Emmanuel Nneji said he fully supports free speech and “encourages the use of these rights to oppose human indignities and atrocities.”

In some jurisdictions, law enforcement officials have already levied serious criminal charges against people. New Orleans Police Department officers arrested three people for battery on a law enforcement officer, committing “hate crimes” against law enforcement, and resisting an officer with force—the latter of which could land a person in prison for one to three years. In Georgia, a professor whose brutal arrest was caught on camera was charged with battery on a police officer. In Florida, some students were reportedly charged with “wearing a hood or mask on public property,” a law initially enacted in 1951 to crack down on the Ku Klux Klan.

At least one office, that of Travis County Attorney Delia Garza, has already dropped charges against 57 people arrested during protests on the University of Texas at Austin campus on Apr. 25. But, since then, police in Texas have arrested nearly 80 more people. One photojournalist from Fox 7 Austin had been arrested on felony charges of assaulting an officer, but that case has since been dropped.

Of the total number of prosecutors, 26 are running for office in 2024.

The map below lists the protests identified by The Appeal. Hover or click on the dots to see each prosecutor’s response. You may also search for specific encampments in the search bar.

A Flourish map
Campuses where arrests have occurred:

Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona

Campus police arrested 72 people for trespassing on Apr. 26, according to a statement from the university.

Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell’s office told The Appeal: “The courts, not the County Attorney, makes the decision whether probable cause exists in these cases; the court also sets what it believes is appropriate bail. No charging decisions have been made yet. I take this situation very seriously and intend to continue to monitor each case closely. The people involved must be held accountable for their actions.”

Mitchell is running for reelection this year.

Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, Arizona

Police arrested 24 people for trespassing on Apr. 30, according to local news.

Coconino County Attorney Bill Ring did not respond.

University of Arizona in Tucson, Arizona

A team of four police departments arrested at least four people on charges of criminal trespassing and aggravated assault on an officer on Apr. 30, local news reported. Officers fired tear gas and rubber bullets at protesters.

Pima County Attorney Laura Conover’s office told The Appeal: “Every charging decision we make is made on a case-by-case basis. The specific facts of each case, and the applicable law, will determine if charges are appropriate. PCAO has neither charged nor dismissed charges against any individual who has taken part in campus protests at this time.”

Conover is running for reelection this year.

University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, New Mexico

State and campus police arrested 16 people for trespassing and wrongful use of public property on Apr. 29, a university spokesperson told local media.

Prior to the arrests, Bernalillo County District Attorney Sam Bregman’s office told The Appeal: “This office is not interested in prosecuting people for exercising their First Amendment rights.”

Bregman is running for reelection this year.

University of Texas at Austin, Texas

The Travis County Sheriff’s Office arrested 57 people on Apr. 25, local news reported. Those charges were all dropped. University police and Texas Department of Public Safety troopers arrested an additional 79 people on Apr. 29, according to local news.

Police arrested Fox 7 Austin photojournalist Carlos Sanchez for allegedly assaulting a police officer. Sanchez’s charges were reportedly dropped on Apr. 30.

Travis County Attorney Delia Garza, whose office prosecutes some misdemeanors, told The Appeal that charges from the 57 arrests on Apr. 25 have been dismissed. “The Travis County Attorney’s Office received several cases yesterday and throughout the evening as a result of yesterday’s demonstration at the University of Texas,” Garza’s office said. “Legal concerns were raised by defense counsel. We individually reviewed each case that was presented and agreed there were deficiencies in the probable cause affidavits. The Court affirmed and ordered the release of those individuals. We will continue to individually review all cases presented to our office to determine whether prosecution is factually and legally appropriate. Final count is 57 arrested on criminal trespass. All 57 lack sufficient probable cause to proceed.”

Both prosecutors are running for reelection this year.

University of Texas at Dallas, Texas

State troopers and campus police arrested 20 people for trespassing on May 1, according to local news reports.

Dallas County District Attorney John Creuzot’s office previously told The Appeal: “We have no comment.”

University of Houston in Houston, Texas

Campus police arrested two people for failure to identify, resisting arrest, assault on a police officer on May 8, local news reported.

Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg’s office told The Appeal: “We don’t comment on hypothetical cases or situations. All cases are evaluated by our office based on their merits at the time of their presentation.”

The Harris County District Attorney is up for election this year, but Ogg has already lost her reelection bid.

Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri

On Apr. 27, 100 people were arrested on charges of trespassing, resisting arrest, and assault, the university said.

Police were filmed severely beating a professor.

St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell did not respond.

Bell is running to unseat incumbent U.S. Congress member Cori Bush. Bell said he was inspired to run against her due to her criticism of Israel and he has been endorsed by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), among other groups.

Auraria Campus in Denver, Colorado

Denver and Auraria Campus police arrested roughly 40 people on trespassing charges at a protest on Apr. 26, local news reported.

Denver District Attorney Beth McCann did not respond.

University of Utah in Salt Lake City, Utah

A team of five police departments arrested 19 people on Apr. 29, according to a university statement.

Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill’s office told The Appeal: “We are monitoring the situation on the University of Utah campus. We have not yet had anything submitted to our office related to last night’s protest and arrests.”

University of Minnesota in Twin Cities, Minnesota

Campus police arrested nine people on trespassing charges on Apr. 23, local news reported.

Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said she believes the arrests were for misdemeanor trespassing, which is prosecuted by the city attorney, not the county attorney.

Minneapolis City Attorney Kristyn Anderson did not respond.

University of Wisconsin-Madison in Madison, Wisconsin

University of Wisconsin-Madison police, Wisconsin State Patrol, the Dane County Sheriff’s Office, and the Madison Police Department arrested 34 people on May 1, according to a statement from the university. Many were released with no citation, the university said, but four were charged with attempting to disarm a police officer, resisting arrest, attempted escape, and battery to a police officer.

Dane County District Attorney Ismael Ozanne has not yet responded.

Madison City Attorney Michael Haas’s office previously told The Appeal: “We have not had any discussions about a blanket policy related to arrests of protesters. It is also not a certainty that those cases would be referred to us as the Dane County District Attorney prosecutes criminal cases. Also, the University of Wisconsin has its own police department and its cases are usually referred to the District Attorney. The demonstration on campus here only started yesterday and we have not received any referrals.”

Ohio State in Columbus, Ohio

Ohio State Police and campus police arrested 41 people for trespassing on Apr. 26, local news reported.

Franklin County Prosecuting Attorney G. Gary Tyack said the charges are misdemeanors and will be handled by the city attorney’s office, not his.

Columbus City Attorney Zach Klein told The Appeal: “As with any criminal case brought to our office, we will review the facts on a case by case basis to determine if there is sufficient evidence to proceed with criminal prosecution. The same is true for those charged out of the student protests. Our office will review the cases and charges filed. There has been no determination yet on how we will proceed.”

Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio

Campus police detained 22 people on Apr. 29, according to local media.

Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Michael O’Malley’s office directed The Appeal to contact the City of Cleveland Prosecutor’s Office.

O’Malley is running for reelection this year.

Cleveland City Prosecutor Aqueelah Jordan’s office told The Appeal: “We are unaware of any arrests being made. Our office evaluates the facts, evidence and circumstances of each case brought before us on an individual basis. There have been no arrests or police reports for college students, faculty or staff presented to our office related to protests on college campuses, thus no charges have been filed or dismissed. We believe in the exercise of constitutional rights including the First Amendment right to free speech. We also believe in public safety and following the law. We will continue to support the exercise of students, faculty and staff first amendment rights within the confines of content neutral time manner and place restrictions. We will not offer an opinion or charging or not charging a matter without the full presentation of evidence to make an informed Constitutional decision.”

University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kansas

Campus police arrested one person for interference with law enforcement on May 7, local news reported.

Douglas County District Attorney Suzanne Valdez did not respond.

Valdez is running for reelection this year.

Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana

Indiana University Police and Indiana State Police arrested 33 people on Apr. 25. Indiana State Police arrested an additional 23 people on Apr. 27, bringing the total number of arrests to 56. The charges include trespassing and resisting law enforcement, local news reported.

Regarding the first 33 arrests, Monroe County Prosecuting Attorney Erika Oliphant’s office told The Appeal: “They were released on their own recognizance and given a promise to appear for June. In the meantime, we will examine all the reports we receive and any relevant footage to determine what, if any, charges are appropriate.”

University of Notre Dame in Notre Dame, Indiana

Campus police arrested 17 people for trespassing and resisting law enforcement on May 2, according to local news.

St. Joseph’s County Prosecuting Attorney Ken Cotter did not respond.

Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan

Campus police arrested one person for disorderly conduct after students interrupted an Apr. 26 university meeting to demand the school divest from Israel, local news reported.

Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy’s office told The Appeal: “The police can issue tickets for ordinance violations that would typically be handled by the City of Detroit’s Corporation Counsel. I am not aware that we have received any cases in our office. If that changes, I have asked to be alerted.”

Worthy is running for reelection this year and is unopposed.

Detroit Corporation Counsel Conrad Mallet did not respond.

University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan

Michigan State Police arrested one person on May 3, local news reported.

Washtenaw County Prosecuting Attorney Eli Savit did not respond.

Savit is running for reelection this year.

The Art Institute of Chicago in Chicago, Illinois

The Chicago Police Department arrested 68 people for trespassing on May 4, local news reported.

Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx’s office told The Appeal: “The Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office (CCSAO) recognizes peaceful protesting as a fundamental First Amendment Right. Established in 2020, our Protest-Related Charging Policy ensures that individuals engaging in peaceful protests will not face prosecution. We work closely with our law enforcement partners to ensure that residents can exercise their rights while also maintaining public safety for all.”

University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign, Illinois

Campus police arrested two people on Apr. 26. Both have been charged with felony “mob action,” according to local news.

Champaign County State’s Attorney Julia Rietz did not respond.

Rietz is running for reelection this year and is unopposed.

Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia

Georgia State Patrol arrested at least 28 people on Apr. 25, local news reported. The charges include criminal trespassing, disorderly conduct, and obstruction of law enforcement officers, among others. A professor whose brutal arrest was caught on camera was charged with battery on a police officer.

DeKalb County District Attorney Sherry Boston’s office told The Appeal: “At this time, our office has not yet received any of these cases. If and when we do, we will review them carefully, as we would any other case received in our office. It should be noted that we only handle felony cases, so depending on the charges, we may not have any involvement.”

Boston is running for reelection this year.

The DeKalb County Solicitor General Donna Coleman-Stribling prosecutes some misdemeanors. Coleman-Stribling’s office told The Appeal: “We are in the process of investigating each of the cases we have received related to the Emory protests. Once the investigation is completed, we will decide whether formal charges should be filed regarding these arrests.”

Coleman-Stribling is running unopposed for reelection in 2024.

University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia

Campus police arrested at least 16 people for trespassing on Apr. 29, local news reported.

Athens-Clarke County Solicitor General Will Fleenor prosecutes misdemeanors. His office has not responded.

Athens-Clarke County District Attorney Deborah Gonzalez prosecutes felonies. Gonzalez’s office told The Appeal: “Thank you for reaching out to our office regarding this issue. The answer to your question is no because these arrests were related to misdemeanor charges. The Solicitor General’s Office is handling any charges related to these arrests.”

Gonzalez is running for reelection this year.

George Washington University in Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C. police arrested 33 people after officers moved to clear a pro-Palestinian encampment on campus, according to news reports. Charges for protesters include assault on a police officer and unlawful entry.

Attorney General for the District of Columbia Brian Schwalb did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Thursday following those arrests.

His office previously told The Appeal: “Everyone has the right to protest peaceably under both federal and DC laws. However, there are places in DC where the right to protest may be limited, and the right to protest does not protect violence or civil disobedience. When arrests are presented to our office, we evaluate them and make a charging decision based upon the facts and the law in each individual case, as well as the public safety risks to DC residents. As of right now, we are not aware of any arrests in DC related to Gaza protests.”

University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, Virginia

Campus police arrested 12 people for trespassing on Apr. 27, according to the university.

Commonwealth’s Attorney Libby K. Humphries did not respond.

Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia

Campus police arrested 82 people for trespassing on Apr. 28, local news reported.

Commonwealth’s Attorney Mary Pettitt did not respond.

Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia

Campus, Richmond, and state police arrested 13 people for unlawful assembly and trespassing on Apr. 29, local news reported.

Police tear-gassed protesters.

Richmond Commonwealth’s Attorney Colette McEachin did not respond.

University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Virginia

Campus police and Virginia State Police arrested 25 people for trespassing on May 4, according to the university.

Commonwealth’s Attorney Joseph Platania did not respond.

University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, North Carolina

Campus police detained around 36 people on Apr. 30 on charges including trespassing, the university told local media.

Orange County District Attorney Jeff Nieman’s office previously told The Appeal: “We would take each charge on a case-by-case basis, but we would not categorically dismiss charges stemming from protest-related arrests. We have had no such protest-related charges so far.”

North Carolina State University in Raleigh, North Carolina

Police arrested one person on trespassing charges, local news reported.

Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman did not respond.

University of South Carolina in Columbia, South Carolina

Campus police arrested two people on Apr. 23 for breaching the peace, local news reported.

Fifth Judicial Circuit Solicitor Byron Gipson did not respond.

University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tennessee

Campus police and Knoxville Police Department officers arrested 9 people for trespassing on May 2, according to local news.

Knox County District Attorney General Charme Allen did not respond.

Tulane University and Loyola University in New Orleans, Louisiana

The New Orleans Police Department (NOPD) said it arrested 12 people after clearing an encampment in Jackson Square, local news reported. The charges include trespassing, hate crime on law enforcement, aggravated battery on a police officer, resisting an officer by force or violence, and interfering with a law enforcement investigation, according to an NOPD statement.

Tulane University police, Louisiana State Police, and the NOPD arrested an additional 14 people at Tulane for trespassing on Apr. 30, according to a statement from the university.

Orleans Parish District Attorney Jason Williams’s office told The Appeal they have “no on record statement regarding these matters” and asked to speak off the record, which The Appeal declined.

University of South Florida in Tampa, Florida

Campus police arrested three people on Apr. 29, according to local news.

Police tear-gassed protesters and arrested 10 additional people on Apr. 30 for unlawful assembly, trespassing, resisting an officer, aggravated assault with intent to commit a felony with a weapon, possession of a firearm on school property, and battery on a law enforcement officer local news reported.

Thirteenth Judicial District State Attorney Suzy Lopez did not respond.

Lopez is running for reelection this year.

University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida

Campus police and Florida Highway Patrol arrested nine people on Apr. 29. The charges include failure to obey a lawful command, resisting without violence, trespassing, battery on a law enforcement officer, and wearing a hood or mask on public property, local news reports.

Eighth Judicial District State Attorney Brian Kramer did not respond.

Kramer is running for reelection this year.

Florida State University in Tallahassee, Florida

Florida State University police arrested five people on Apr. 30, according to student activists.

Second Judicial Circuit State Attorney Jack Campbell did not respond.

Portland State University in Portland, Oregon

Portland Police and campus police arrested 30 people on May 2, according to local news.

Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt did not respond to The Appeal, but he previously told local media: “I expect that felony charges could be filed depending on what evidence we gather, including burglary and felony, criminal mischief along with other potential misdemeanors.”

Schmidt is running for reelection this year.

San Diego State University in San Diego, California

Campus police, California Highway Patrol, and the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department arrested 64 people for unlawful assembly on May 6, local news reported.

San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan’s office directed The Appeal to the city attorney’s office. San Diego City Attorney Mara Elliot’s office said it had not yet received any cases from the May 6 arrests.

California State Polytechnic University in Humboldt, California

Humboldt County Sheriff’s deputies and campus police arrested 35 people on Apr. 30, according to a statement from the university. Charges include unlawful assembly, vandalism, conspiracy, assault on police officers, and others.

Humboldt County District Attorney Stacey Eads did not respond.

University of Southern California in Los Angeles, California

The Los Angeles Police Department arrested 93 people for trespassing on Apr. 25, local news reported.

Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón’s office told The Appeal on Apr. 25 they had not received any cases against student protesters, and protest cases are typically charged as misdemeanor trespassing, which would be prosecuted by the city attorney, not the county attorney.

Gascón is running for reelection this year.

Los Angeles City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto’s office told The Appeal on May 2: “Our office has not received any submissions from law enforcement arising out of the protests at USC or UCLA for consideration.”

University of California in Los Angeles, California

The Los Angeles Police Department, California Highway Patrol, campus police, and other law enforcement arrested at least 210 protesters while breaking up a protest encampment on the night of May 1 and morning of May 2, according to news reports. Many were reportedly booked for failing to disperse. A day earlier, roughly two dozen protesters were hospitalized after Israel supporters attacked the encampment. The attackers were not arrested.

Campus police and the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department arrested an additional 43 people for conspiracy to attempt burglary on May 6, according to news reports.

Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón’s office told The Appeal on May 2: “The Los Angeles City Attorney is responsible for the prosecution of misdemeanors in the city of Los Angeles. Please direct all questions regarding misdemeanor offenses to the LACA. The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office is responsible for the prosecution of felony crimes. As of [May 2], law enforcement has not presented any UCLA cases to our office. When law enforcement presents a case to our office, we apply the law to the facts of each case and determine what charges, if any, are appropriate. Please direct any questions regarding arrests to law enforcement.”

Gascón is running for reelection this year.

City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto’s office told The Appeal on May 2: “Our office has not received any submissions from law enforcement arising out of the protests at USC or UCLA for consideration.” Her office has not responded to further messages.

New York University in Manhattan, New York

The NYPD arrested 120 people on Apr. 22. Inside Higher Ed reported that 116 were released with summonses for trespassing while the other four face charges of resisting arrest and obstructing government administration. NYPD arrested an additional 13 people on May 3, according to news reports.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg did not respond.

Columbia University in Manhattan, New York

The NYPD arrested 108 people for trespassing on Apr. 18, according to news reports. The NYPD arrested an additional 112 people for trespassing, burglary, and criminal mischief on April 30, local news reported.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg did not respond.

City College of New York in Manhattan, New York

Organizers say school police officers arrested a woman and charged her with a felony.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg did not respond.

The New School in Manhattan, New York

The NYPD arrested 43 people on May 3, according to news reports.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has not responded to multiple requests for comment.

Fordham University in Manhattan, New York

The NYPD arrested 15 people for trespassing on May 1, according to local news.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg did not respond.

Fashion Institute of Technology in Manhattan, New York

NYPD officers arrested 50 people on May 8, local news reported.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg did not respond.

University at Buffalo in Buffalo, New York

Campus police, Buffalo police, Amherst police, the Erie County Sheriff’s Office, and state police arrested 15 people for loitering, trespass, disorderly conduct, and resisting arrest on May 1, according to the university.

Erie County District Attorney Michael Keane’s office told The Appeal: “Our office only releases information after a defendant has been arraigned. All of the individuals arrested at University at Buffalo last night were issued appearance tickets to be arraigned on June 4, 2024 in Amherst Town Court. To our knowledge, all except one of the accused have been charged with non-criminal violations. Our office does not prosecute violations outside of Buffalo City Court. Violations will be handled by the Amherst town prosecutor. One individual, who was charged with Resisting Arrest (Class “A” misdemeanor) and Loitering (violation), was issued an appearance ticket to be arraigned in Amherst Town Court on May 29, 2024.”

Keane, who was appointed acting district attorney in March, is running for election to a full term this year.

The Amherst Town Prosecutor’s Office did not respond.

Stony Brook University in Stony Brook, New York

Campus police, Suffolk County police, and state police arrested 29 people on May 2, according to local news.

Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond Tierney did not respond.

State University of New York at New Paltz, New York

State Police, State University Police, Ulster County Sheriff’s Office, and New Paltz Police Department arrested 133 people for trespassing on May 2, according to local news.

Ulster County District Attorney Emmanuel Nneji’s office told The Appeal: “I completely support the free exercise of free speech and association. I wholeheartedly encourage the use of these rights to oppose human indignities and atrocities anywhere they occur. I encourage our young and old, students and all, to abide the law and the rights and interests of others, whether or not they are sympathetic to your cause, as you push for a better today and tomorrow for everyone. Even as we disagree about any particular issue, we must first recognize and accept the right of everyone to be safe, including peaceful protesters and police officers. All those arrested are entitled to the presumption of innocence and due process, including the assurance that they are entitled to, and are guaranteed, fair treatment from the Office of the Ulster County District Attorney.”

State University of New York at Purchase, New York

University police, Westchester County Police, and New York State Police arrested more than 70 people for trespassing on May 2, according to local news.

Westchester County District Attorney Miriam Rocah’s office told The Appeal: “We are waiting for the arrests to be processed to evaluate the facts and evidence, as we do in all cases.”

Emerson College in Boston, Massachusetts

Boston police arrested 108 people. Arraignments for the more than 200 total protesters arrested in Boston are underway.

Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden’s office told The Appeal: “We don’t comment on arraignments before they occur.”

Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts

University police arrested 97 people on Apr. 27. At least one student’s criminal trespassing charges have already been dismissed, local news reported.

Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden’s office told The Appeal: “We don’t comment on arraignments before they occur.”

University of Massachusetts in Amherst, Massachusetts

Campus police arrested 134 protesters on May 7, local news reported.

Northwestern District Attorney David Sullivan’s office told The Appeal: “We will take these case by case as they come through the court system. As of yet, none have come through court. That will happen starting next week.”

University of New Hampshire in Durham, New Hampshire

Campus police arrested 12 people for trespassing and disorderly conduct on May 1, according to local news.

Strafford County Attorney Emily Garod’s office told The Appeal: “Like any case referred to us for prosecution, we will evaluate the evidence for each case and if charges are warranted we will work to resolve the case for an appropriate resolution. Currently only the assault cases are being handled by my office with the trespass and disorderly cases being handled by the police department’s prosecutor, which is typical. To my knowledge none of the charges filed against anyone last night have been dismissed.”

Garod is running for reelection this year.

Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire

Hanover Police and New Hampshire state troopers arrested 90 people for trespassing and resisting arrest on May 1, according to Hanover police.

Assistant Grafton County Attorney Mariana Pastore declined to press charges against two student reporters who were arrested on May 1 while covering the encampment.

Grafton County Attorney Martha Ann Hornick did not respond.

University of Connecticut in Storrs, Connecticut

Campus police arrested one person on Apr. 26. He was charged with interfering with an officer, local news reported.

Campus police arrested an additional 23 people on Apr. 30 for disorderly conduct and criminal trespassing, student protesters told local news.

Tolland Judicial District State’s Attorney Matthew Gedansky did not respond.

Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut

Campus police arrested 48 people for trespassing on Apr. 22, according to a statement from the university president. Campus police arrested another four protesters for trespassing, disorderly conduct, and interfering with a police officer on May 1, according to local media.

The State Attorney for New Haven’s Judicial District, John P. Doyle, Jr., did not respond.

Princeton University in Princeton, New Jersey

Campus police arrested two people on trespassing charges on Apr. 25, local news reported. Thirteen more people were arrested for trespassing on Apr. 29, local news reported.

Mercer County Prosecutor Angelo J. Onofri’s office told The Appeal: “There are many offenses someone could be charged with that would be handled in Municipal Court and would never reach the prosecutor’s office—disorderly persons offenses such as trespassing, failure to disperse, simple assault. Only indictable charges, such as aggravated assault, would reach our office for review. I have no specific knowledge of any protesters being charged with indictable offenses in our jurisdiction.”

University of Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Police arrested two people for trespassing on Apr. 29, a university spokesperson told local media.

Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen Zappala did not respond.
A handful of other prosecutors with protests in their districts—but no arrests so far—are running for reelection or higher office this year.

They are:

Ingham County Prosecuting Attorney John Dewane (Lansing, Michigan)


Kalamazoo Prosecuting Attorney Jeff Getting (Kalamazoo, Michigan)


Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm (Milwaukee, Wisconsin)


Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten (Ithaca, New York)


Missoula County Attorney Matt Jennings (Missoula, Montana)
Other prosecutors whose jurisdictions currently have protests, but no arrests, made statements to The Appeal regarding their intent to prosecute protesters.

Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten’s office (New York): “As a general policy, I have stated that the Tompkins County DA’s Office will not prosecute students, faculty and other demonstrators who are arrested during protests. As a matter of common sense, there are limits to that general policy – obviously if an individual commits violence against another person or causes property damage we will ask the police to conduct a full investigation and will make a decision on a case by case basis how to handle that conduct. We have offered adjournments in contemplation of dismissal in an earlier case this year.”

Cumberland County District Attorney Jacqueline Sartoris’s office (Maine): “I do not have any pro forma policy concerning protest engagements. We review reports on a case-by-case basis. We take into account the specifics as well as the totality of the situation and factors we would consider in reviewing any potential case. I should note that last year NSC-131 marched in Portland. The group verbally engaged with counter protesters then committed what appeared to be a violent one-sided assault. However, in part because officers were practicing de-escalation, did not anticipate sudden violence, and because witnesses initially refrained from cooperation, we did not have the evidence needed to identify and charge the perpetrators. The counter protester suffered an apparent concussion. We will continue to review these matters on a case-by-case basis notwithstanding the subject matter of any protest.”

Bexar County District Attorney Joe Gonzales’ office (Texas): “Currently, the Bexar County District Attorney’s Office has not received any protest arrest cases to date. Should a case be filed with our office, it will undergo a thorough review by our office.”

Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price’s office (California): “To answer these questions, please provide the names of anyone arrested during the incidents related to your inquiry.”

Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha’s office: “If the police make arrests for disorderly conduct or other misdemeanor offenses, those prosecutions would be handled by the Providence City Solicitor’s Office in the first instance. This Office handles felony prosecutions and misdemeanor appeals. To our knowledge, no charges have yet been brought. We cannot answer hypothetical questions regarding arrests that have not yet been made. Any further questions should be directed to the City of Providence.”

Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen’s office (California) “We don’t have any such cases. Nor do we have a blanket policy about protests. We review every case through the same lens and ask the same questions: Was there a crime? Do we know who committed the crime? Can we prove it to a jury unanimously and beyond a reasonable doubt? Is prosecution the right thing to do?”

Correction: A previous version of this article incorrectly identified the prosecutor responsible for criminal cases at Washington University in St. Louis. The earlier version also misstated the title of Travis County Attorney Delia Garza.

This is a breaking story. This post will be updated. This post was last edited on Thursday, May 9, 2024, at 2:30 P.M. PST.

The Appeal is a nonprofit newsroom that exposes how the U.S. criminal legal system fails to keep people safe and perpetuates harm.