17 arrested during protest at Notre Dame

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (WNDU) - The University of Notre Dame now joins the growing list of schools across the country where pro-Palestinian protests have led to arrests.

The St. Joseph County Prosecutor’s Office says 17 protestors were arrested on Thursday night during a largely peaceful protest on campus.

According to the university, event organizers failed to secure permission to hold the rally, but it was allowed to proceed as long as there was no amplified sound, no tents, and as long as things wrapped up by 9 p.m.

Things did not wrap by 9 p.m., according to court documents.

Prosecutors say that university officials repeatedly asked the protestors to disperse because they were disturbing students who needed to prepare for final exams. Those 17 individuals reportedly refused to do so, and police moved in to make arrests at about 11:15 p.m.

The university says officers used care and concern for the protestor’s safety and dignity. Video of the arrests shared by Occupation Free ND appears to show they took place peacefully.

Three of the 17 arrestees spent the night in jail because they faced an additional charge of resisting arrest. However, prosecutors dropped those resisting arrest charges and set them free on Friday.

All 17 arrestees, who were charged with misdemeanor criminal trespass, have been ordered to appear in court on June 28. If convicted, prosecutors say they face up to one year in jail.

The University of Notre Dame released the following statement on Friday morning regarding Thursday night’s arrests:

Occupation Free ND was asking the school to divest from companies that manufacture weapons, to reevaluate ties with Israeli universities, and to ease restrictions on campus protests.

Organizers say they adhered to the mandate their protest must be peaceful and that no tents could be erected. They say they were initially hopeful when college administrators arrived to discuss their concerns.

They maintain, however, those administrators quickly became dismissive of their concerns and demanded the peaceful protest end.

“I’m very disappointed actually, I didn’t expect it all,” said Blair Kedwell, president of Student Voices for Palestine. “I think given, Notre Dame’s been pretty good relatively to other schools. I didn’t expect so much police presence at all, especially given that the protest was so peaceful, and there was about 50 students sitting on blankets, no chanting, absolutely nothing violent. Just a whole bunch of students sitting around eating hanging out.”

Jamil Allen, also of Student Voices for Palestine, suggests the protest was peaceful until law enforcement stepped in.

“We saw a drone on top that was following everything that we were doing, and we saw people just peacefully protesting, arms behind their backs saying ‘Free, free, Palestine’ and seeing different things that are here for peace,” Allen said. “I didn’t think it was violent until the police came and unlawfully taking all these people.”

Kedwell says the protestors were all Notre Dame students and as such should have the right to be anywhere they like on campus and protest peacefully.

For his part, Allen was surprised protestors were accused of resisting arrest. He says all the protesters did was stretch out on the ground and repeat the phrase “Free, free Palestine.”

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