At California State Polytechnic State University, Humboldt, police arrested 25 protesters early Tuesday and called off an occupation of the administration building that forced the campus to close.
The university said in a statement that 25 people face a variety of charges, including unlawful assembly, vandalism, conspiracy and assault on a police officer.
“What was happening was not freedom of expression or protest,” the university said. “This was a criminal act, and we had serious concerns about its further spread on campus.”
Protesters occupied Siemens Hall on April 22, renaming it “Intifada Hall.” They fought early attempts by police to remove them and then refused increasingly forceful requests from authorities to leave the building. Protesters also occupied Siemens Hall, which houses the university's president's office.
On Monday night, the university's campus police, known as Cal Poly Humboldt, used a loudspeaker to call on about 150 people outside the building to leave and declared the protest an “unlawful assembly.” , began trying to disperse the protesters. Demonstrators shouted and sang while linking arms in front of the building.
At approximately 2:30 a.m., officers from various California agencies arrested protesters and moved to secure Siemens Hall and the second occupied building, Nelson Hall East.
After occupying Siemens Hall last week, protesters set up dozens of tents on the lawns surrounding it. In response, the university closed its entire campus, located more than 445 miles north of San Francisco. The university announced that the “mandatory closure” will continue until May 10, the day before the scheduled start of classes on campus.
The protesters called for the school to disclose its investments in companies operating in Israel, divest from companies profiting from military operations in Gaza, and sever ties with Israeli universities. , made several demands, including the dropping of charges against the three students arrested at the start of the protests. . They are also calling on the university to call for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war.
Cal Poly Humboldt leaders said Friday they are making a “good faith effort” to respond to the request. Hours later, they told the students occupying the building that they had a “brief opportunity to leave with a guarantee that they would not be immediately arrested.” On Sunday night, the chancellor's team asked students to “exit campus peacefully now,” but this time there was no offer of immunity.