Chicago police clear out anti-Israel encampment at DePaul University
Chicago police officers were seen Thursday morning taking down an anti-Israel encampment that had persisted for more than two weeks at DePaul University.
Officers in riot gear were seen on the North Side campus just before 6 a.m. to clear the encampment on DePaul University's Lincoln Park quad, WLS reported.
The encampment began on April 30.
In a letter on Thursday morning, DePaul President Robert L. Manuel said "our Office of Public Safety and Chicago Police are now disassembling the encampment. Every person currently in the encampment will be given the opportunity to leave peacefully and without being arrested. I urge all there to leave peacefully and return home."
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Police clear out protest encampment at DePaul University in Chicago, Illinois. (WFLD)
"Since the encampment began on April 30, the situation has steadily escalated with physical altercations, credible threats of violence from people not associated with our community, an inability for the other members of our community to take part in the core academic experiences on our campus, and an ever-growing series of threats to the people involved in the encampment and our community members," he wrote. "From the beginning of the encampment, I have said that we would protect free speech and the ability to dissent until it either prevented us from carrying out the operations of our university or threatened the safety of the members of our community. I am deeply saddened to say the encampment has crossed that line."
Manuel said university negotiators were unable to reach a shared resolution with the DePaul Divestment Coalition after 17 days of discussions.
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"Effective immediately, the quad and all other green spaces on the Lincoln Park Campus will be closed to everyone," the university president said. These spaces will remain closed until further notice so that we can begin property repairs and return to normal operations. Anyone who tries to breach the fence around the quad or any of the green spaces on the Lincoln Park Campus will be trespassed, arrested, and suspended. DePaul will continue to investigate every reported complaint of harassment or discrimination that we receive resulting from the encampment or subsequent events."
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