Police on Friday arrested a handful of protesters at a pro-Palestine encampment set up on Arizona State University’s campus in Tempe.
John Thompson, ASU’s assistant police chief, told The Arizona Republic three people were arrested Friday morning.
The event kicked off at about 8:45 a.m., as ASU students and demonstrators filed into Alumni Lawn by the dozens, brandishing Palestinian flags and signs. They called for an official statement from the university condemning the violence in Gaza.
The group quickly and quietly constructed a Gaza solidarity camp, one of many in a growing movement across the nation this week. The encampment featured more than a dozen tents and shade structures.
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The first arrest came at about 9 a.m., with campus police telling protesters they were violating ARS 13-1502 , a criminal trespass statute. A misdemeanor charge is issued to a person “knowingly entering or remaining unlawfully on any real property after a reasonable request to leave by a law enforcement officer.”Lt. Larry Fuchtman of ASU Police said the rule was not in place as of 1 p.m., but was used when officers previously arrested protesters in the morning after he said specific requests were made for them to leave. Some Tempe police officers were briefly at the encampment.