Activists who participated in the “Gaza Liberation Encampment” at Virginia Tech brought children to the ill-fated protest before dozens of protesters were arrested by police, suggests video posted to social media on Sunday.
One video that surfaced on the social media platform X on Sunday after police ordered protesters to leave the encampment included a child who led the protesters in a chant. The video was captioned to ask police whether they are scared by children.
JUST IN — The Gaza encampment at Virginia Tech has been told that they will be arrested if they don't disperse. pic.twitter.com/leEuNFBzXl
— Citizen Free Press (@CitizenFreePres) April 28, 2024
Police eventually began dispersing the crowd after dark, with the university confirming arrests began on Sunday at 10:50 p.m. and the situation “stabilized” by 3:32 a.m. on Monday.
A total of 91 individuals were arrested for refusing to leave the encampment despite police orders. At least 54 of those arrested “are current Virginia Tech students,” who were charged with trespassing, the university confirmed.
Video purportedly captured from live streams run by activists at the protest appeared to show children remained at the protest until just before police began making arrests.
At this point, the police cruisers show up and once those blue lights came on, many students dispersed.
At 23 seconds, you clearly see a little boy and I presume his mother. The last you see of him, you see him wrap his arms around his mother as he stands next to her. The IG… pic.twitter.com/WGVqxdsu1V
— Stu (@thestustustudio) April 29, 2024
Virginia Tech President Tim Sands said in a prepared message on Monday the arrests were necessary after the encampment’s third day, after it became clear protesters were “refusing to comply with university policy and safety regulations.”
Sands also highlighted alleged mistreatment of police officers and said he was “deeply disappointed” by the protesters’ tactics.
“While I am grateful the incident was resolved peacefully by Virginia Tech Police, I was saddened by the way our officers were treated.” Sands added, “I am also deeply disappointed to see members of our community choose uncivil and unlawful behavior over purposeful engagement in difficult conversations and robust debate that should be part of the Virginia Tech experience.”
Police arrested the protesters and dispersed their anti-Israel encampment just hours after Governor Glenn Youngkin pledged his administration would protect the First Amendment while extending the same protection to Jewish college students and preventing illegal campus encampments.
Youngkin explained, “that does not go to, in fact, intimidating Jewish students and preventing them from attending class and using annihilation speech to express deeply antisemitic views,” and explained, “yes we will protect the ability to peacefully express yourself, but we’re not going to have the kinds of hate speech and intimidation that we’re seeing across the country in Virginia.”
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Georgia Star News, The Pennsylvania Daily Star, and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Virginia Tech Pro-Palestine Protest” by Stu.
