Police officers at the University of Arizona in Tucson cleared an unauthorized encampment on campus early Friday morning, hours before a scheduled graduation ceremony, school officials said.
The school said in a statement that the encampment, reportedly made of “wooden pallets and other debris,” was erected on campus grounds after 5 p.m. Thursday, contrary to campus policy.
Officials said they warned demonstrators to remove and disperse their camps, but the warnings were ignored.
“This evening, police vehicles were spiked and rocks and water bottles were thrown at police officers and university staff,” school officials said. “Those who violate the law will be arrested and prosecuted. University authorities have taken action to ensure the safety of the convening attendees at Centennial Hall.”
The campus incidents page on the university's website said “chemical munitions” were deployed while police dispersed the crowd and the encampment was cleared just before 4 a.m. ET. The encampment clearance took place 24 hours before the school's graduation ceremony, scheduled for Friday at 7:30 p.m. local time.
A school spokesperson said Friday that there were no reports of injuries and that two school personnel had been arrested. One of the groups organizing the protest posted on Instagram early Friday, calling for people to come outside the Pima County Jail “until all of our friends are released.” The group said in another post that two teachers had been arrested.
This is the second time in less than a month that law enforcement has broken up an encampment on school grounds. A few weeks ago, protesters set up an encampment, but it was cleared on April 30th. The school said four protesters were arrested that night, including an undergraduate student, one graduate student, and two people not affiliated with the university.
