Pro-Palestinian protesters arrested after occupying U of M building

Eleven people were arrested Monday evening after pro-Palestinian protesters occupied a building on the University of Minnesota’s Twin Cities campus.

The University of Minnesota’s Students for a Democratic Society chapter initially asked students to protest at 3 p.m. Monday, which is the first day of homecoming events at the U.

The organization said in a social media post soon after that students were occupying the building to demand the University of Minnesota divest from Israel and weapons manufacturers, among other asks.

“These issues are not something that we can separate ourselves from. There are a lot of students in the university who have families in Lebanon, who have families in Palestine, who have to go to their exams knowing that there is this horrible thing happening across the world, — and not only is it happening, but their university is contributing to it,” said sophomore Juliet Murphy, a media representative for Students for a Democratic Society.

The university sent a campus alert at 4:39 p.m. saying protesters “have entered Morrill Hall on the East Bank, causing property damage and restricting entrance and exit from the building,” and advising people to leave the building and stay away from the area.

Photos from the protest showed tables, chairs and pallets piled in front of some doors and windows on the exterior of Morrill Hall. Students for a Democratic Society said it was not restricting entering or exiting of the building.

University police were in the area soon after the occupation began, and the university said those officers — with support from the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office — entered the building at about 5:40 p.m. Students for a Democratic Society said that U students and alumni were among the 11 people arrested and taken to the Hennepin County Jail.

In a statement later Monday evening, university officials said the protesters who entered Morrill Hall “began spray painting, including covering lenses of all internal security cameras, breaking interior windows, and barricading the building’s entrance and exit points. The full extent of the damage is unknown.”

The university said some staff members working in the building were “unable to exit the building for an extended period of time.”

Murphy, with Students for a Democratic Society, was outside the building during the protests. She said they occupied Morrill Hall because of its history.

In 1969, Black students occupied Morrill Hall for 24 hours as part of the Civil Rights Movement. The occupation spurred the creation of the U’s Department of African-American and African Studies.

“And I think we’re kind of calling it out at this point and saying, ‘You have always taught us that we should stand up for what we believe in, we should be the motivators for change, but yet, when it no longer benefits you, it doesn’t seem like you really want to continue having those conversations. It doesn't seem like you really care about listening to your diverse student body,’” Murphy said.

The occupation comes after extensive protests for divestment in the spring semester. In April, students took to the U of M’s Northrop Mall with tents, joining student encampment movements nationwide. Nine people, mostly students or recent students, were arrested during those protests but charges for trespassing and refusing to depart were later dismissed. 

Student organizers struck a deal with administrators in May to end their encampment. In exchange, the university agreed to disclose its investments in Israel, which it did a week later. Students from the pro-divestment coalition, and from anti-divestment Jewish student organizations, were also given a chance to speak at a Board of Regents meeting in May. 

The University of Minnesota’s Board of Regents voted in August to reject student calls for divestment from Israel — and to block most future student divestment campaigns.

The university also rolled out guidelines this summer stating demonstrations must be limited to 100 people and end by 10 p.m., and that they cannot use tents nor remain in buildings after scheduled closing hours, among other rules. Violation can result in immediate interim suspension, arrest and being barred from campus.

Murphy said the protesters had been “hopeful” after talks with university leaders last spring, but said Monday that “over the summer and through the semester, it’s become abundantly created that they do not consider (divestment) to be a priority.”

MPR News reporters Estelle Timar-Wilcox and Cari Spencer contributed reporting.

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