4 arrested as police break up pro-Palestinian protest at University of Michigan

ANN ARBOR, Mich. (FOX 2) - A protest during a back-to-school event at the University of Michigan ended with four participants getting arrested on Wednesday.

None of the people arrested were students at U-M Ann Arbor, according to the university. Three of the individuals were not affiliated with U-M and were released on Wednesday, while one is a temporary employee who was released on Thursday.

Protesters held a die-in demonstration where they laid on the ground of the Diag, pretending to be dead, as a way of protesting the ongoing war in Gaza and calling on the university to divest from Israel.

"Protestors were calling for the divestment of University of Michigan holdings in weapons manufacturers, whose products are used to massacre Palestinians," according to TAHRIR Coalition, which encompasses over 100 student groups at U-M.

The coalition organized the protest on the third day of the semester, during Festifall – a student organization fair held each fall.

About 50 people took part in the demonstration, disrupting the university event, according to the University of Michigan Police Department (UMPD). Officers arrived and asked protesters to disperse.

"For more than an hour, they were given multiple warnings that made clear they were blocking pedestrian traffic and violating university policy," the university's Division of Public Safety and Security said in a statement to FOX 2. "Most eventually dispersed although some refused to leave and, as a result, four people were arrested."

However, TAHRIR Coalition stated in a release that the dispersement and arrests were violent – adding that police charged at students, faculty, and community members as they "gathered peacefully on the Diag."

Three protesters were allegedly grabbed and slammed to the ground.

The University of Michigan Faculty and Staff for Justice in Palestine (FSJP) echoed the coalition's claims of police violence during the die-in demonstration in a statement posted to social media on Thursday.

"The result of this belligerent attack by the hands of UMPD was serious injury to multiple protesters, one of whose head was slammed against concrete by police, and two were sent to the ER," according to U-M's FSJP. "Two activists were targeted due to their racial identity."

The university did not provide additional details as of Thursday afternoon and did not confirm any injuries or racial discrimination by police.

In May, a month-long student encampment on the Diag was forcefully broken up by police. Four protesters were arrested and at least two others were hospitalized.

ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN - MAY 13: Pro-Palestinian protestors continue protesting at the pro-Palestine encampment of the University of Michigan as protestors call upon the community of Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States on May 13, 2024 to grow their numbe

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Video posted by TAHRIR Coalition showed police using pepper-spray as protesters and officers clashed over three months ago.

"Protests are welcome at the University of Michigan, so long as those protests do not infringe on the rights of others, disrupt university operations, or threaten the safety of the community," according to the University of Michigan. "The university has been clear that we will enforce our policies related to protests and expressive activity, and that we will hold individuals accountable for their actions in order to ensure a safe and inclusive enforcement for all."

The latest incident, on Wednesday, is still under investigation.