Source: WISH-TV / other
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Much like what has been happening at Ivy League schools out east, a large protest had to be broken up by Indiana State Police on the IU-Bloomington campus on Thursday resulting in 33 people being arrested.
The Pro-Palestinian protestors set up tents and tables on Dunn Meadow on the IU campus and engaged in a protest calling for a cease-fire chanting the recognizable “Free, Free Palestine!” chant.
By mid-afternoon state troopers, wearing their riot gear, came and told the protestors with tents that they were violating university policy and were told to take the tents down or be arrested. Many refused which forced the troopers to follow through on their threats.
While struggling to maintain order as many of the protestors resisted, the troopers managed to arrest 33 people and take them to the Monroe County Jail. One of those 33 was Cameron Pierce who said they were not handled justly.
“We were taken from Dunn Meadow at around 4. We didn’t get to the county building until around 7, so there was a long period of time where we were essentially hostages in the indoor fieldhouse,” Pierce told WISH-TV. We didn’t know what we were being charged for. We were hustling and told we were arrested. We weren’t being read our rights.”
Regardless, Pierce believes that being arrested was worth it.
“This is a small price to pay for the solidarity of Gaza’s people and the Palestinian people, who are suffering a lot more than I am,” Pierce added.
“The goal is to free Palestine. That’s the main goal. That’s the goal I’m plugged into,” said Mike Carter, who is a senior at IU. “I’m not even fully educated on the topic. It’s just pretty obvious which side is the right side to be on.”
There was a small group of counter-protestors who supported Israel nearby watching the arrests unfold.
“I saw what was happening, and my whole community came out just to be together and to show our support for our community and to show love,” said IU freshman Asher Weisberg. “I think it shows just the ignorance of other people. I’m not really sure what they’re saying, but there’s a lot of ignorance.”
An IU spokesperson said the university always supports free speech, but that the protest was broken up to avoid disruption to university operations. They also said that expressive activity must be conducted in accordance with university policies.
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