Arizona State University (ASU) confirmed on Saturday a number of its students were among the 72 protesters arrested for the creation of an anti-Israel encampment on the school’s Tempe campus.
A university statement declared, “ASU Police arrested 72 people for trespassing after they set up an unauthorized encampment Friday,” noting that such encampments are not allowed on the institution’s property.
Following multiple warnings to leave by police, the university explained the encampment ultimately removed after 11 p.m.
While the university statement maintained the majority of those present in the anti-Israel encampment “were not ASU students, faculty, or staff,” ASU nonetheless acknowledged its students were arrested.
“Of the 72 arrested throughout the day Friday, 15 were ASU students,” the university confirmed. ASU stated it “will continue to be an environment that embraces freedom of speech,” but the university’s “first priority is to create a safe and secure an environment that supports teaching and learning.”
A list of demands was previously shared by reporters, revealing protesters apparently demanded ASU submit with “an official statement condemning the Zionist genocide of Palestinians.”
Those behind the encampment also apparently sought for ASU to participate in the controversial Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement that many Israelis consider antisemitic.
Protesters also demanded the resignation of ASU President Michael Crow, the abolition of the police on the ASU campus, and, “Professional, academic and legal amnesty for all students and faculty who have been disciplined or fired for speaking out for Palestinian liberation.”
Governor Katie Hobbs’ office previously defended protesters’ “right to free speech and peaceful protest” in a statement obtained by The Center Square, but also declared the governor “strongly opposes any calls to boycott and divest from Israel, attacks on Israel’s right to exist, demands to abolish the police, or rhetoric that supports or encourages violence.”
Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell told Arizona’s Family her office has yet to make any charging decisions, but stated, “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.”
The encampment in Tempe at ASU came amid a spate of anti-Israel campuses established at university campuses across the United States. Formed to oppose Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza, it was reported on Friday that Hungarian-American financier George Soros and his allies fund organizations behind the encampments at multiple universities.
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Pennsylvania Daily Star, The Virginia Star and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “ASU Protesters” by Ben Brown.
