11 pro-Palestinian protesters are arrested after occupying the University of Minnesota building

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Police arrested a dozen pro-Palestinian protesters Monday at the University of Minnesota after a group of students entered an administration building, university officials said.

Monday afternoon’s protest prompted an alert from school officials. “Protesters have entered Morrill Hall on the east bank, causing property damage and restricting entry and exit to the building,” the alert said. “If you are currently in Morrill Hall and can safely exit the building, please do so immediately. Others Avoid this area until further notice.”

Ryan Mattson, a media liaison with the university’s chapter of Students for a Democratic Society, said some protesters who were inside the building were arrested. It was not initially known how many were arrested, but university officials released a statement saying 11 people were arrested less than two hours after entering Morrill Hall.

Merlin Van Alstein, an organizer for the group, said earlier that about 30 protesters occupied Morrill Hall, while a larger group gathered outside.

The group renamed the building “Halimy Hall,” in memory of 19-year-old Palestinian TikTok creator Medo Halimy, who was killed in an apparent Israeli airstrike in August. The Israeli military said it was not aware of the attack that killed Halimy.

The protesters were equipped with tents and supplies, and said they planned to stay until their demands were met. They demanded that the university divest from Israel and repeal its political neutrality agreement. Video posted online showed chairs and other patio furniture stacked in front of an exterior window of the building.

“We plan to stay until they force us out,” Van Alstein said before the arrests. “The people inside will not leave until they meet our demands or are forced to leave.”

The university said that once inside the building, protesters covered the lenses of internal security cameras with spray paint, broke some interior windows and barricaded entrances and exits.

Early Monday afternoon, the group shared a video on Facebook of a speaker announcing that its members were occupying the building but not restricting anyone from leaving or entering.

The speaker appeared in front of a large sign that read: “Money for education, not bombs and jobs.” Other campus protests in the US in response to the Israel-Hamas war have included calls for divestment.

Protests, including earlier this year on University of Minnesota campuses, raised issues of free speech and anti-Semitism as students demanded that their universities stop doing business with Israel or companies they said who supported the war in Gaza.

College homecoming week started on Monday.

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Dura reported from Bismarck, North Dakota.