ATLANTA — A massive crowd gathered at Emory University Thursday evening for another round of protests over the war in Gaza.
It came after a protest encampment was also set up earlier in the day in support of Palestinians, with the school describing it in a statement as a "trespass" and a heavy law enforcement response that descended on the campus quad; nearly 30 people were taken into custody during the demonstration, Emory said.
That included what Emory called at least 20 members of the school community, an acknowledgment which came after the school maintained earlier in the day that the protesters were "not members of our community" and were "attempting to disrupt our university as our students finish classes and prepare for finals."
Thursday evening, about 1,000 people gathered in the center of campus, taking a stand against the war. Law enforcement officers were also on-site as people chanted and held signs during the protest.
Many are calling for a cease-fire between Israel and Palestine.
Students told 11Alive's Bobeth Yates that there was also a sit-in at the Candler School of Theology. They would like to see their demands met, including releasing the protesters who were arrested earlier in the day, and they want their charges dropped. Some even said they are also willing to be taken into custody for the cause.
"We know that there's a chance that we will be met with that same level of force but we believe what's going on right now demands us put our bodies on the line," student Daniella Hobbs said.
Protests have also popped up at other college campuses recently. Students want universities to separate themselves from companies and organizations that support the war.
The group at Emory eventually dispersed after officers asked everyone to leave.
And just off campus, a group supporting Israel gathered to stand in solidarity with the Jewish community.
"I pray for the Jewish people, but there's also action, and at some stage, we need to step forward and stop these people from harassing and hurting people on campuses," Dion Meltzer said.
"We are working with responding agencies to expedite the release of any Emory community members who remain in custody," Emory said Thursday evening. "Our primary goal today was clearing the Quad of a disruptive encampment while holding individuals accountable to the law."
Throughout the day Thursday, videos that circulated on social media appeared to show tense confrontations with officers and protesters as the encampment was cleared, including struggles during arrests and reports of the use of rubber bullets and mace by officers.
Atlanta Police confirmed they used "chemical irritants" on the protesters but said they did not deploy rubber bullets, according to a statement on their website. The Georgia Department of Public Safety issued a statement saying troopers tased at least one protester twice, as well as used pepper balls. They said they did not use tear gas.
At least two people identifying themselves as students at Atlanta universities wrote an op-ed Thursday morning in the outlet Mondoweiss describing the reasons and goals for the encampment, which include opposing the future Atlanta Public Safety Training Center that has long been opposed by an activist movement derisively calling it "Cop City."
"We are occupying Emory, not because it is the only institution that is complicit in genocide and police militarization, but because its ties are some of the strongest," the op-ed stated.
Thursday afternoon, protest organizers, Gaza Solidarity & Stop Cop City Encampment, released the following statement regarding the events that transpired on campus:
"Atlanta community members were indiscriminately attacked today with pepper bullets, tear gas, and tasers for the simple act of camping out on a school lawn in solidarity with Palestine and Stop Cop City. Those attacked today include students, faculty member Noelle McAfee, journalists, medics, and clergy. The Georgia State Patrol, Atlanta Police Department, and Emory Police Department all bear responsibility for this overt act of terrorism. As protestors collectively retreated from streams of pepper bullets, hundreds more students have taken their place, calling for an end to the police's brutality and the immediate release of all activists arrested. They also continue the call for Emory University to completely divest from all programs enabling Israeli apartheid. Despite the violence authorized by the Emory President Greg Fenves and Dean of Campus Life Enku Gelaye, protestors continue their action on campus and call for the broader Atlanta community to join them."
Politicians across Georgia weighed in, with Republicans including Gov. Brian Kemp and Attorney General Chris Carr supporting the law enforcement action and Democrats, among them a coalition of state lawmakers and Rep. Hank Johnson, whose district borders Emory, expressing concern about the police tactics and supporting protesters' rights to demonstrate.
Gov. Kemp said in part: "Across the country, Americans have watched with horror as radicals have terrorized Jewish students and forced them to evacuate from their dormitories and classrooms. College campuses are designed to be places of learning and often civil discourse, but in Georgia they will never be a safe haven for those who promote terrorism and extremism that threatens the safety of students," the statement read in part.
Rep. Johnson said he was "disturbed" that GSP had been called in to respond at the Emory campus and that the state patrol "has no place on the college campus" while also criticizing what he called "outside agitators" allegedly incorporated into the protest. It was unclear what level of involvement non-students had in the organizing of the first protest encampment or later protests; Emory acknowledged at least 20 members of their community were among those detained Thursday.
Several state Democratic lawmakers signed a statement saying they were "deeply alarmed by reports of excessive force" and said the "use of extreme anti-riot tactics by Georgia State Patrol, including tasers and gas, is a dangerous escalation."
Among the signees were Rep. Ruwa Romman, Georgia's only Palestinian-American elected state lawmaker.