Multiple Arrests Made At UGA Pro-Palestinian Protest Camp: Reports

ATHENS, GA — Georgia's latest university protest of the war in Gaza hit a well-known college campus in Athens on Monday, according to media reports.

Dozens of protesters set up camp at the University of Georgia, resulting in some arrests, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

The Red and Black, UGA's campus newspaper, said the protest was organized around 6 a.m. by local students.

The pro-Palestinian protest was deemed a Gaza solidarity encampment, according to an Instagram post from the Students for Justice in Palestine at UGA. The group acknowledged campus officials requested a dispersement of the protest, sharing a brief clip of the interaction.

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"As community members and students banded together in an encampment on university grounds to stand in solidarity with the Palestinians in Gaza, university administration gave a dispersal order and then police came and forcefully removed and arrested demonstrators. ... Education is for everyone. We have the right to protest and be heard," UGA-SJP wrote on Instagram.

The group said it "stands in solidarity" with residents in Palestine and other "student movements across the nation advocating for Palestinian liberation."

The protest is one of several nationwide protesting the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.

Recent Israeli airstrikes claimed the lives of at least 30 Palestinians and injured others in Gaza, Reuters reported Monday, citing medics. Warplanes hit two houses and killed at least four people and injured several others, the outlet reported, citing health officials.

Athens-Clarke County Police told Patch the department assisted with transporting arrestees at the scene.

The North Campus protest violated UGA's policies and "crossed a line," said Greg Trevor, UGA university spokesperson and senior advisor for crisis communications, in a statement obtained by Patch.

Trevor said camps are not allowed outdoors at UGA, adding protests cannot disrupt campus activities. Sidewalks cannot be blocked, and the use of amplified sound is not allowed, he said.

"The University of Georgia is firmly committed to the First Amendment guarantees of freedom of speech and expression. Over the course of this academic year, we have facilitated dozens of events in which members of our campus community and guest speakers have publicly expressed differing viewpoints through lectures, marches, vigils and protests," Trevor said in the statement.

" ... Early this morning, without making a required reservation under our Freedom of Expression Policy, approximately 25 protesters began erecting tents and a barricade, blocking sidewalks and building entrances, and using amplified sound. Shortly thereafter, Student Affairs and University Police personnel established a dialogue with them to ensure awareness of applicable policies. "

Trevor said advisements had been ongoing for at least an hour, requesting tents and barricades be removed. He said those at the protest could make a reservation and relocate to a designated forum, "but they refused."

"After multiple warnings that they would be arrested for trespass if they did not comply with our policies, at 8:30 a.m., UGA Police were left with no choice but to arrest those who refused to comply. Any students, faculty or staff members arrested could also face further disciplinary action by the university," Trevor said in the statement.

"Let us make it abundantly clear that while the University of Georgia staunchly supports freedom of expression, we will not cede control of our campus to groups that refuse to abide by university policy and threaten the safety of those who live, work and study here. The University of Georgia remains an institution where ideas, viewpoints and scholarship can be openly expressed and debated."

Trevor encouraged people who feel threatened or have experienced harassment or discrimination to immediately call UGA Police or the Equal Opportunity Office.