UTD trespassing suspect released from jail
Twenty-one students and faculty members have been charged with misdemeanor trespassing for setting up tents and barricades on campus.
McKinney, Texas – Hundreds of demonstrators gathered outside the Collin County Jail all day Thursday, waiting for the release of pro-Palestinian protesters arrested at UT Dallas.
Twenty-one students and faculty members have been charged with misdemeanor trespassing for setting up tents and barricades on campus.
The suspects were released one by one throughout the day to cheers from supporters. Many wanted to be kept out of the public eye.
Supporters held flags and shouted at law enforcement officers to release those arrested. Some slept overnight outside the prison.
One protester who spoke to FOX 4 said their message remains the same and they will keep fighting.
“We will regroup and plan our next steps. Ultimately, we will not stop until there is justice for the Palestinian people, and we will not stop until the United States stops prioritizing Israel over its own cities.” ” said Mohamed Ayachi.
The first defendant released today was Ali Asghar Alibi, an art history professor at the University of Texas at Dallas.
The daylong reunion was filled with touching hugs.
UTD history professor Ben Wright was one of the last to be released in the afternoon.
Moussa Najjar, a senior UTD official, told FOX 4 that each court’s outcome will be different. He was released on his personal recognizance and did not have to post bail.
“Students demanded divestment from the university, and President Benson called in state police to attack his own students,” Najjar said. “We have made sacrifices for the Palestinian cause, some even sacrificing our lives. This is the least we can do for the Palestinian people in Gaza and abroad. That’s it.”
While DPS officers were on the UTD campus Wednesday, it was UT Dallas police officers who made the arrest at Chess Plaza.
Some have questioned why the protesters were taken to the Collin County Jail, since it is located in Dallas County.
UTD protesters released from Collin County Jail
Hundreds of demonstrators gathered outside the Collin County Jail all day Thursday, waiting for the release of a pro-Palestinian protester arrested at the University of Texas at Dallas on Wednesday.
On Thursday, a Collin County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson said the defendant was arrested in Collin County because the arrest took place within 500 feet of the Collin County line.
Another protest planned for Thursday at the University of Texas at Dallas has been postponed.
The University of Texas at Dallas has not yet said whether the arrested faculty or students will face any disciplinary action from the university for trespassing.
Who are the University of Texas at Dallas protesters?
According to the UTD Police Department, 19 people were charged with misdemeanor trespassing.
The majority are university students and have local addresses, but it is not clear whether they are university students or not.
The youngest was 18 years old and the oldest was 44.
UTD’s student newspaper, the Mercury, reported that three staff members were among those detained by police.
Collin County jail records show Ali Asghar Alibi, assistant professor of art history, and Rosemary Admiral, assistant professor, are charged with trespassing.
Associate history professor Ben Wright was taken to jail, but no charges were listed.
The University of Texas encampment at Dallas was dismantled and protesters were arrested.
Pro-Palestinian groups rally outside Colin Prison
A group of more than a dozen pro-Palestinian protesters said they camped outside the Collin County Jail in the rain Wednesday while waiting for those arrested at the University of Texas at Dallas to be released.
Nearly 20 people were arrested after setting up an encampment on the UT Dallas campus Wednesday afternoon.
The university had warned the group that it was in violation of campus policy and could face trespassing charges if they did not remove it.
When no one moved, UTD called the Richardson Police Department, Collin County Sheriff’s Office and Texas Department of Public Safety for help.
Officers arrived on the scene in armored vehicles wearing riot gear. Officers listened to the demonstrators’ pleas, but eventually began dismantling the tents and using bolt cutters to remove the ones the demonstrators had chained to trees.
Some students said Wednesday’s demonstration was a continuation of their fight. Meanwhile, other Jewish students on campus said they felt threatened.
“This is a group of students to continue the pressure we put on the administration last week in demanding support for our divestment campaign,” said UTD graduate student Noor Saleh. Ta.
Nathaniel Butterfield, another graduate student, said, “I’m very happy that the University of Texas at Dallas brought in law enforcement because I’ve seen how cases that were left unattended on other campuses have progressed.” I’m happy,” he said.
The protesters moved to the student union building, and by 10 p.m. the campus was quiet.
But some said they spent the night in the rain waiting for their fellow protesters to be released from prison.
President Biden and Donald Trump on campus protests
Joe Biden and Donald Trump speak at university protest
Similar to the rift over the Israel-Hamas war, the rift between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump over what’s happening at universities is also significant.
More than 2,000 people have been arrested in protests on campuses across the U.S., according to the Associated Press.
The ugliest clashes between protesters and police occurred before dawn Thursday at UCLA. More than 200 people were arrested there.
President Biden addressed the chaos in the White House on Thursday.
“Dissent is essential to our democracy, but we want students to be able to finish their college education by never creating chaos or denying the rights of others,” Biden said. It must not be done.”
The president defended the right to protest, but added that peaceful protests have no place in disruption.
“We are not an authoritarian nation that silences people or suppresses dissent. The voices of the American people will be heard. In fact, peaceful protests are the best way for Americans to respond to critical issues. “As is tradition, we are also not a lawless nation,” he said. .
When asked if he would deploy the National Guard, President Biden answered “no.”
Similar to the rift over the Israel-Hamas war, the rift between President Biden and former President Donald Trump over what is happening at universities is also significant.
“These are far-left lunatics and they have to stop now. This behavior will continue and it will only get worse,” Trump said.
Increasingly, students are disobeying police orders, with some students occupying parts of campus with encampments and others occupying parts of buildings and barricading them to prevent law enforcement from entering.
“Keep in mind that everyone who has been arrested in any part of this country has been arrested either because they were setting up a tent that was in violation of the regulations, or because they were told by a police officer to move and they refused to move. No one has been arrested for speech,” said Ken Paulson, director of the Center for Free Speech at Middle Tennessee State University.
