2 USC students arrested during Mideast war protest
COLUMBIA, S.C. (WIS) - Two students with the University of South Carolina were arrested in connection with a protest this week.
An incident report from USC Police states the two students were part of a group of 12 people who were located outside of a dining area on the second-floor of Russell House on Tuesday. The group were holding signs and flags ing Palestine in the ongoing Israel-Hamas War and Gaza conflict.
The two students were arrested for breach of peace and taken to the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center.
MORE | Dozens arrested in Emory protest of Mideast war, ‘Cop City’
Emory s the ranks of several universities whose campuses have become the site of heated demonstrations and protests surrounding Israel and Palestinians.
The “Midnight Breakfast” event was taking place in the dining area on Russell House. After USC police responded to the group, more people ed them. The protestors were described by officers as “loud and boisterous, shouting chants intending to create a deliberate disturbance.”
The group was addressed by Russell House management and law enforcement, who attempted to explain they were causing a disturbance and must leave the event. The protestors continued for about 30 minutes before moving to another area of Russell House and then leaving the building.
Police said when the group realized they were going to be arrested, they fled the area on foot. Officers located a Black man, 19, and a white woman, 19, walking on Sumter Street and recognized them as of the group of protestors. When officers told them to stop, they ran until officers caught up with them.
The university responded to the incident saying:
“USC s students and of our community who wish to exercise their First Amendment rights and to peacefully protest. Protestors do not have the right to infringe on others by preventing them from participating in planned campus events.”
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