JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Dozens of University of North Florida Police Department officers and Jacksonville Sheriff's Office officers descended on a Pro-Palestinian UNF campus Thursday night, arresting what appeared to be between 10-15 protestors.
Many of the officers were armed with batons and wearing gas masks.
Protestors began to be tied with zip-tie handcuffs and escorted to sit on the ground by police just after 10:35 p.m. The protestors complied and were taken into custody peacefully.
The protestors, including UNF Students for a Democratic Society, have been gathering on the Green at UNF for three days. They are asking UNF to divest from companies with interests in Israel, such as Lockheed Martin.
Thursday evening, there were about 70 protestors. Just before nightfall, a large group of officers approached the group, and they were told to take down umbrellas they had erected.
One protestor told First Coast News they were previously allowed to have umbrellas, but police changed the rules.
They complied and at that time, police left. Protestors were told they needed to disperse by 10 p.m. While most of them left or moved away from the Green, between 10 and 15 stayed after the curfew. The protestors chanted, "From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free," "Free free, free Palestine," and "The students united will never be defeated."
Dozens of police then returned to the area. A group approached with bikes, blocking in the protestors. Then they began lifting students off the ground and cuffing them with zip ties.
Just after 11:15 p.m., police loaded the protestors into police vans and left UNF.
First Coast News was on the scene for several hours as the scene unfolded. The full livestream is available below. We have reached out to UNF and JSO for more information on why the students were detained.
In a statement Friday, UNF wrote:
"The University of North Florida respects the right for all to protest, demonstrate, assemble and express differing viewpoints. As we exercise our First Amendment rights, we also have the responsibility to follow applicable laws, rules and regulations.
Consistent with the University’s enforcement of reasonable time, place and manner restrictions, demonstrators at UNF this evening were told by University Police that they needed to leave campus by 10 p.m. as they have done the previous two nights. After multiple warnings, those who refused to leave were trespassed from campus and arrested.
The University has no additional comment at this time."
Jacksonville Sheriff's Office Public Information Officer Max Morel told First Coast News he does not know how many officers responded to the scene. He says JSO responded to assist UNF PD and redirected other questions to them.
