Boston police arrested 108 pro-Palestinian protesters at the Emerson College encampment early today in a showdown over setting up tents on a public way.
BPD reports four officers were injured, three “minor” and one with more serious injuries. “No protesters in custody have reported injuries at this time,” police told the Herald this morning.
The mostly college students are set to be arraigned in Boston Municipal Court today. Emerson has also called off classes for the day.
Social media video of the police sweep show protesters being forcibly removed from the Boylston Place location at about 2 a.m., with some refusing to move in a scrum that also had protesters linking arms and chanting, “We keep us safe.”
An Instagram post just before the arrests show a man with a bullhorn instructing the students on how to “form ranks 4 lines thick & drill on how to resist police,” the post states.
The Berkeley Beacon, Emerson’s college student newspaper, posted in a live blog that the arrests began at 1:45 a.m.
City Councilor Ed Flynn tweeted last night that he “firmly believes in freedom of speech, but we cannot block public access.”
The arrests were streamed live on some social media platforms as the police moved in as many had predicted they would because the college encampment is in an alley that leads to the Transportation Building in downtown.
Emerson’s new president, Jay Bernhardt, wrote yesterday that the college supports “our community’s right to express their views through protest. However, they must do so in a manner consistent with the laws of the City of Boston and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.” That statement was co-signed by the college leadership team.
Flynn added in his tweet: “Violations of city ordinances must be addressed. Tents in public right of ways must come down.”
The Emerson arrests come as college protests have spread across the nation sparking antisemitism against fellow Jewish students — with leading Jewish voices, including Patriots owner Robert Kraft, calling out anti-Israel “virulent hate” protests at his alma mater Columbia University.
Harvard, where the protests quickly began right after the merciless Oct. 7 Hamas terror assault on Israel, have flared up anew with an encampment on Harvard Yard after it had been closed down.
The protesters are calling out Israel’s invasion of Gaza and the civilian casualties, while hostages taken by Hamas terrorists are still being held.
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