Colleges claim not all protesters getting arrested are part of their school communities: 'outside groups'
College and university officials across the U.S. are starting to say the anti-Israel protests are being infiltrated by outside agitators, not affiliated with the schools.
Colleges across the U.S. are reporting that some of the anti-Israel protesters participating in, and getting arrested at demonstrations are not part of the school community, and instead are outsiders.
Emory University in Atlanta released a statement Thursday that 28 people were arrested during a demonstration at the Emory quad, 20 of whom were members of the school community.
In the statement, Cheryl Elliott, the vice president of public safety at Emory University, said a few dozen protesters arrived at campus just before 7:45 a.m.
When the protesters arrived, she said, they ignored and pushed past Emory Police Department (EPD) officers stationed at the quad and set up tents in an area where equipment and materials were staged for a commencement ceremony.
"Based on their actions and refusal to confirm their connection to Emory, EPD made the assessment that these individuals were not Emory community members," Elliott said.
The Atlanta Police Department and Georgia State Patrol responded to assist with the situation, around which time social media accounts began announcing a protest and occupation at the Quad, calling on non-Emory community members to join the protest.
EPD continued to issue warnings to individuals in the encampment, saying they were trespassing on private property and advising them to leave.
The warnings were ignored and officers from all three police agencies worked to disperse the crowd and arrest individuals for trespassing.
The events escalated and objects were thrown at officers, Elliott explained, adding that one individual attacked a non-EPD officer and appeared to have been subdued with an electric student gun, as seen on video shared on social media. Police then used chemical irritants to control the crowd.
"As of this message, we have been notified that 28 individuals have been arrested, including 20 Emory community members, some of whom have been released," Elliott said.
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Emory is not the only school to report that outsiders were participating in the protests.
On Saturday night, George Washington University confirmed anti-Israel protests included outsiders not affiliated with the school.
University officials said there were several non-affiliated individuals, or outsiders, who joined the protest. The university has since taken steps to prevent these individuals from accessing the University Yard. The school was also aware of offensive signs, which GW officials said they did not believe were being held by anyone associated with the university.
At Ohio State University, police arrested nearly 40 people over the past two days after breaking up an anti-Israel encampment. Of the 40 people arrested, only 18 were students, according to a report from a local ABC station.
Officials at the University of Texas, Austin campus said nearly half of the people arrested during anti-Israel demonstrations last Wednesday were not affiliated with the university.
The university said that the protest, organized by the Palestine Solidarity Committee, saw "significant participation by outside groups present on our campus yesterday."
"This outside group presence is what we’ve seen from the affiliated national organization’s efforts to disrupt and create disorder," UT Austin said. "Roughly half (26) of the 55 people who violated Institutional Rules and were ultimately arrested were unaffiliated with The University of Texas."
Outside agitators also infiltrated protests at Northeastern University in Boston.
"Earlier this morning, the Northeastern University Police Department (NUPD) — in cooperation with local law enforcement partners — began clearing an unauthorized encampment on the university’s Boston campus," Northeastern Vice President for Communications Renata Nyul told FOX 25 in Boston. "What began as a student demonstration two days ago, was infiltrated by professional organizers with no affiliation to Northeastern. Last night, the use of virulent antisemitic slurs, including ‘Kill the Jews,’ crossed the line. We cannot tolerate this kind of hate on our campus."
Protests continued throughout the week last week at Columbia University in New York City.
Nemat "Minouche" Shafik, the president of Columbia University, issued a statement last week about the protests saying she was "deeply saddened" by certain actions of agitators, who have formed an "encampment" on the campus, riling students and faculty with anti-Jewish slogans and chants.
"Our bonds as a community have been severely tested in ways that will take a great deal of time and effort to reaffirm," Shafik said before acknowledging the influence of outsiders on the community. "Students across an array of communities have conveyed fears for their safety, and we have announced additional actions we are taking to address security concerns. The decibel of our disagreements has only increased in recent days. These tensions have been exploited and amplified by individuals who are not affiliated with Columbia who have come to campus to pursue their own agendas."
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Fox News Digital reached out to several colleges and universities – Yale, New York University, Harvard, and the University of Southern California – where anti-Israel protests have taken place over the past week, and did not hear back, despite several attempts seeking comment on the influence of outsiders.
Still, the New York City Police Department has acknowledged the influence of outsiders, especially at Columbia University.
"What may have started as a group of Columbia students wanting to express their constitutional right to protest has drawn crowds of outside agitators who are trying to hijack a peaceful protest and turn it something far more sinister," NYPD Deputy Commissioner Kaz Daughtry said in a post on X. "The NYPD sees these same groups of professional protesters nightly at various demonstrations regardless of the message; sometimes switching sides depending on the week. Those same outside agitators continue to spew hate and antisemitism.
"The NYPD has and will always support the right to peacefully protest; however, we stand ready and willing to address what’s happening at Columbia University as soon as the university president allows us on their private property," Daughtry added.
Fox News Digital’s Bradford Betz, Louis Casiano and Chris Pandolfo contributed to this report.