Nineteen protesters, including six students, were taken into police custody Friday night, after attempting to occupy a building on the University of Pennsylvania campus, a university spokesperson said.
Seven of the students arrested on Friday remained in custody Saturday awaiting felony charges, including one person who assaulted an officer, campus police said. A dozen were issued citations for failing to disperse and follow police commands. They have been released from custody.
Around 9 p.m. pro-Palestinian protesters had hit the streets in University City once again.
The activists had blocked the road near 34th and Walnut Streets, and that's when a group of them entered Fisher-Bennet Hall on Penn's campus.
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"Twelve were issued citations for failure to disperse and failure to follow police commands and later released. Seven remain in custody awaiting felony charges, including one for assaulting a police officer. " the spokesperson said in a statement.
The spokesperson added that after the building was cleared, Penn Police recovered lock-picking tools and homemade metal shields fashioned from oil drums. The exit doors had been secured with zip-ties, barbed wire, and barricaded with metal chairs and desks, and the windows were covered over with newspaper and cardboard. Bike racks and metal chairs were also found blocking outside entrances.
SkyForce10 was over the scene of the protest, where police could be seen lined up next to the crowd on the sidewalk. Some officers were wearing helmets and carrying batons while some had ziptie handcuffs visible.
Some of the protesters could be seen banging pots and pans while others used noisemakers in front of the police officers.
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Just before 10 p.m., the protesters appeared to rush into the street where the officers were standing.
Our cameras caught the moments as the group was chanting, "We hold power," while a woman shouted the chant into a megaphone.
Some of the group made a long line from sidewalk to sidewalk with the rest of the protesters gathered behind them while they faced the police officers who were also standing in a line.
One person could be seen on the shoulders of another protester while holding up a Palestinian flag.
Then, around 10:30, the group of protesters moved to the intersection right outside of Franklin Field at the corner of 33rd and South streets. They gathered on one of the corners of the intersection before crossing to the other side of the street.
Meanwhile, an officer stood in the middle of the intersection and directed car traffic to avoid the area of the campus.
This protest comes one week after the University of Pennsylvania disbanded an encampment on its campus. Hours later that night, hundreds of people were walking through the streets of University City in Philadelphia carrying Palestinian flags.
Students and others have set up tent encampments on campuses around the country to protest the Israel-Hamas war, pressing colleges to cut financial ties with Israel. Tensions over the war have been high on campuses since the fall but the pro-Palestinian demonstrations spread quickly following an April 18 police crackdown on an encampment at Columbia University.
The demonstrations reached all corners of the United States, becoming its largest campus protest movement in decades, and spread to other countries, including many in Europe.
Nearly 3,000 people have been arrested on U.S. campuses over the past month. As summer break approaches, there have been fewer new arrests and campuses have been calmer. Still, colleges have been vigilant for disruptions to commencement ceremonies.
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