Wayne State University president says anti-Israel encampment 'presented legal, health and safety' challenges
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An anti-Israel encampment at Wayne State University in Detroit was dismantled by police early Thursday, resulting in the arrests of at least eight protesters during ensuing clashes with authorities on campus.
Of the eight protesters arrested, six were arrested for trespassing, one was arrested for resisting and obstructing, and one was arrested for assault and battery on a police officer, Matt Lockwood, the university's associate vice president of communications, confirmed to Fox News Digital.
Some protesters were seen clashing with police dressed in riot gear in video that news crews captured while on campus. Cleanup crews were also seen removing dozens of tents and hauling away bags filled with trash that accumulated at the encampment.
Wayne State University President Kimberly Andrews Espy said in a statement on Thursday that the encampment "presented legal, health and safety, and operational challenges for our community."
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Police dismantled an anti-Israel encampment at Wayne State University on Thursday morning. (FOX2 Detroit WJBK)
"The encampment also created an environment of exclusion – one in which some members of our campus community felt unwelcome and unable to fully participate in campus life," Espy said.
The protesters set up the encampment on campus last week to demand the university divest from Israel. (FOX2 Detroit WJBK)
Despite university leaders’ multiple attempts to ask protesters to remove the encampment, the protesters refused to do so, Lockwood previously told Fox News Digital.
At least eight protesters were arrested, the university said. (FOX2 Detroit WJBK)
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Protesters set up the encampment on campus last week to demand the university’s divestment from the Jewish state.
Dozens of tents are seen on the campus of Wayne State University. (FOX2 Detroit WJBK)
On Tuesday, rising tensions with the encampment forced the university to announce that all classes would be held remotely until further notice, referring to the encampment as "an ongoing public safety issue."
Other universities across the country have removed similar encampments in the wake of the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas. Last week, police cleared an anti-Israel encampment at the University of Michigan after it posed a fire risk.
