Protesters and police clash on VCU campus
After a hot day of dancing, singing and chanting, the scene in front of VCU’s James Branch Cabell Library changed drastically in a space of just several hours.
Where students were once doing homework, screen printing and painting, a makeshift barricade was formed and lines of university, city, and state police appeared in riot gear.
The day began early, as VCU students declared the grassy area a “Liberated Zone,” using social media to invite people to join them to call for pro-Palestinian support.
Their demands included wanting the university to disclose any investments in Israel, divest from those companies, and to call for an immediate cease-fire.
Bullhorns and doumbeks appeared as people began to gather, leading to circle dances and chants of “free, free Palestine.”
Shortly after 5 p.m., organizers and the crowd gathered for a rally. After a few words by VCU student and activist Sereen Haddad, the group jumped into action. Tents materialized and wooden pallets were pulled from a truck. Less than 24 hours earlier, Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced that encampments would not be allowed on college campuses.
Amid roughly 20 tents, demonstrators continued dancing to music until organizers informed the group of around 200 that law enforcement officers were spotted in riot gear nearby. The encampment built a barricade with pallets and wood signs, as leaders began teaching how to resist arrests.
At about 8:30 p.m., VCU, Richmond and Virginia State police officers, some carrying shields, unloaded from buses and formed shoulder-to-shoulder lines.
As the front line of VCU officers moved toward the mostly student demonstrators, water bottles and chemical agents filled the air.
Chaos ensued.
A handful of demonstrators were dragged away, and 13 were arrested. About two hours after police arrived, Haddad stepped between the two sides and called for her fellow demonstrators to go home. Those arrested were charged with unlawful assembly and trespassing, both misdemeanors.
“Disperse if you would like to continue this movement,” she said. “We can rebuild in the morning.”
The crowd — some with their eyes stinging from chemical agents used by police, along with bruises and scrapes — began to dissolve, leaving remnants of their tent-city behind.
