Police officers used tear gas to disperse activists on the campus of Emory University, amid a nationwide crackdown.
Police in the US state of Georgia used tear gas and Tasers on Thursday to disperse a pro-Palestinian student encampment, while law enforcement targeted activists on university campuses across the country.
The clashes took place at Emory University in Atlanta, where activists – including students from several nearby universities – set up tents in the morning. They were rallying against what they called “the genocide of the Palestinians” by Israel, and against Cop City, a local police and fire training center currently under construction.
“We demand total institutional divestment from Israeli apartheid and Cop City at all Atlanta colleges and universities. » said an organizer. “We occupy Emory, not because it is the only institution complicit in genocide and police militarization, but because its connections are among the strongest. »
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The university said in a statement that several dozen people “intruder” on his campus, and warned that he “do not tolerate vandalism or other criminal activity.” Members of the Emory Police Department, Atlanta Police and the Georgia State Patrol were called to the scene, according to local media.
“Members of the Atlanta community were indiscriminately attacked today with pepper bullets, tear gas and Tasers for simply camping on a school lawn.” as part of a political demonstration, organizers said.
Extremely disturbing images. Atlanta police arrested a student protester being held at Emory University minutes ago. pic.twitter.com/Iq9p98za8y
– Read Let This Radicalize You (@JoshuaPHilll) April 25, 2024
A video reportedly filmed at the scene shows several officers holding a man handcuffed, while one appears to hit his leg with a Taser.
The APD confirmed the use “chemical irritants” but stressed that his officers did not “deploy rubber bullets” contrary to some reports circulating online.
While the university initially claimed that activists “not members of our community”, he later admitted that of 28 people arrested in the raid, 20 were from Emory.
Pro-Palestinian activists have faced crackdowns across the United States this week. The wave of campus protests was sparked last week by actions at Columbia University in New York and has spread to around 40 universities and colleges across the United States and Canada, according to NBC News. On Thursday, police reportedly targeted encampments at Indiana University Bloomington and Ohio State University.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu welcomed US police repression, stigmatizing protesters “anti-Semitic crowds” and comparing them to Nazi sympathizers of the 1930s.
Jonathan Greenblatt, leader of the American pro-Israel group Anti-Defamation League, claimed this week in an interview with MSNBC that the wave of protests had been organized by “campus proxies” from Iran.
Israel attacked Gaza in October last year in retaliation for a deadly incursion by the Palestinian group Hamas, in which 1,200 Israelis were reported killed. The death toll in the enclave has since surpassed 35,000, according to Palestinian officials.
RT