YIR: Protesters Arrested at Emory Demonstration

Several anti-Israel protesters, including a pair of professors, were detained on April 26 after demonstrating on the Emory University campus.

The demonstrators constructed an “encampment for Gaza” and took turns riling up the crowd via a bullhorn and divisive rhetoric, including declaring their support for Gaza in Hamas’ war with Israel.

As part of their demonstration, the protesters called for an end to “Israel’s genocide in Gaza” and demanded that Emory sever any association with the Atlanta Police Foundation and Israeli Defense Forces.

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Georgia State Patrol and Atlanta Police Department officers joined Emory campus police on the scene in an attempt to contain the situation. According to reports, the officers informed the protesters that they were trespassing, and that the area would need to be cleared. Many of the protesters refused to leave and quickly found themselves tackled to the ground by some of the officers. Shortly after, officers targeted the crowd with a pepper spray-like irritant and then used a Taser on at least one of the protesters to subdue them.

According to The Emory Wheel, police officers donned gas masks and used zip ties to arrest individuals after tackling them to the ground.

Emory University President Gregory Fenves issued a statement after the incident, noting that several dozen individuals who were not Emory students staged the demonstration with the purpose of disrupting the Emory community and the school’s final exam schedule.