ATLANTA — Emory University's campus was vandalized on Saturday as ongoing protests continue against the Israel-Hamas war, the president said.
In a letter, the university's president, Gregory Fenves, said that late Saturday evening, when students and faculty were assembled on the Quad, several people allegedly approached the Convocation Hall and spray-painted hateful messages on the building's exterior walls. Fenves said that several other structures were also vandalized.
"These individuals brazenly disrupted what had been a peaceful protest," Fenves wrote. "Many on the Quad, including those participating in the protest, condemned the action as the work of individuals from outside our community."
Following the vandalism, the Emory Police Department issued a criminal trespass warning to six people suspected of committing the acts and confirmed that none of those people were affiliated with the university, according to a release.
The police later arrested a convicted felon from North Carolina who allegedly was found on the Quad carrying knives and a pepper spray canister. When police had obtained a search warrant and inspected the man's car, they found an axe, a hatchet and two knives in a bag with survival gear, police said.
That person has been charged with criminal trespass, obstructing a law enforcement officer, possession of a weapon in a school safety zone, criminal trespass and crossing state lines with weapons, intoxicants or drugs, according to police.
In general, the president said Saturday's incident follows similar vandalism that happened on the Quad last Monday. He also said it has become clear to him that the university is navigating a divide between people who want to express themselves peacefully compared to others who, he said, seek to use the campus to promote division.
"This is a distinctly emotional and challenging time," he wrote. "As we engage in important conversations about how we move forward, we must not allow hatred to overwhelm the many peaceful and thoughtful voices at Emory."