Police forcibly dismantled a pro-Palestinian encampment at the Art Institute of Chicago on Saturday and arrested dozens of demonstrators, hours after demonstrators gathered in a garden at the institute and set up tents.
Some of the protesters were students at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, which is affiliated with the institute, the school said in a statement.
Chicago police said further social media that officers had removed the protesters from the school at their request. A Chicago Police spokesperson said Sunday that 68 people had been arrested and charged with trespassing.
The protesters set up camp around 11 a.m. Saturday in the North Garden, which is part of the Art Institute of Chicago museum, police said. While encampments at some other U.S. schools during the recent wave of pro-Palestinian protests have stood for days or even weeks before police acted, police said in this case that officers “responded immediately” to ensure the safety of protesters and guarantee to the public.
The People's Art Institute, the organizers of the protest, said on social media that the protesters are demanding, among other things, that the institution formally condemn Israel's treatment of Palestinians, remove all programs that legitimize the “occupation of Palestine,” and get rid of any individuals or entities that support Israel's occupation of Palestinian territory. Photos taken by the group uploaded to social media showed a sign in the encampment that read 'Hind's Garden', a reference to Rear Rajaba six-year-old Palestinian girl killed this year in Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza.
The school said it had offered the protesters an alternative location and promised students they would face no academic sanctions or charges if they moved there.
The statement added that some protesters “surrounded and pushed a security guard and stole their keys to the museum, blocked emergency exits and barricaded gates.”
After about two hours of negotiations, the museum asked officers to remove the protesters, police said. Officers issued warnings and eventually removed and arrested protesters, police said.
Videos Posts from organizers showed police forcibly pulling protesters out of the human chain they had formed outside the garden, while some demonstrators chanted: “Who are you protecting? Who do you serve?”