Police Begin Clearing Anti-Israel Encampment from University of Wisconsin

Pro-Palestinian protesters lock arms as police remove tents erected by protesters from the
AP Photo/Todd Richmond
Elizabeth Weibel

Law enforcement officials began clearing an anti-Israel encampment on Wednesday that had been established at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Officers from the University of Wisconsin Police Department (UWPD), along with other law enforcement agencies began clearing the anti-Israel encampment after giving the protesters a warning and several chances to leave “peacefully,” according to a statement from UW-Madison Chancellor Jennifer L. Mnookin.

Mnookin wrote:

As you may be aware, this morning around 7 a.m., the University of Wisconsin Police Department (UWPD), in concert with partner law enforcement agencies and with my authorization, cleared the unlawful tent encampment on Library Mall. Over the last few days, we have repeatedly asked the protesters to bring their demonstration into conformity with the law that prohibits camping on UW grounds. They declined to do so.

This morning, those present at the encampment were given several warnings during which time they were offered the opportunity to peacefully leave the encampment with their belongings and avoid being either cited or arrested. These warnings followed prior communications, including two messages from campus leaders, that clearly delineated the expectation of consequences if the encampment was not removed.

We appreciate that many protesters chose the option of avoiding legal consequences in exchange for removing tents and other camping supplies from campus grounds. A set of individuals, including some faculty and staff, obstructed law enforcement efforts to remove the tents and were cited.

The encampment at UW-Madison was established on campus grounds on Monday.

After clearing the anti-Israel encampment, police were seen loading supplies from the encampment into a parked trailer.

While only two tents remained at roughly 9:05 a.m., two hours later a new encampment was established, according to Wisconsin Public Radio (WPR).

Students reportedly began sitting on the campus lawn and chanting, “I don’t see no riot here, why are you in riot gear?”

Sami Schalk, an associate professor of gender and women’s studies at UW-Madison was among the crowd of protesters sitting on the lawn.

“HANDS OFF OUR STUDENTS! I’m sitting in with my students & colleagues. This is my view from where I sit on the ground on Library Mall. If you are in Madison please come now and demand cops back down,” Schalk wrote.

Schalk was reportedly among those detained by law enforcement officials and placed in zip ties. She claimed in a later post on X that she was “at the hospital” being checked for injuries she may have sustained and went on to claim that “a cop” had grabbed her “dress & ripped it” and her arm was left injured.

“Another” cop, Schalk claimed, “put his hands around” her throat in an attempt to get her on the ground.

UW-Madison Police Department spokesperson Marc Lovicott clarified that “camping” on campus was the issue, according to WPR:

They were illegally camping and using camping equipment here on campus. That’s the main reason why we were here today and what we enforced. We’re welcoming protesters and we’ve welcomed protesters here all along. You can’t camp here though.

The removal of the anti-Israel encampment on UW-Madison’s campus comes as officers from the New York Police Department (NYPD) moved into Columbia University and conducted a raid on Tuesday night, removing anti-Israel protesters from a building they had seized control of early that day.

An initial encampment had been established at Columbia University on April 17, resulting in various students and hundreds of protesters involved in the encampment being arrested and suspended the next day.

While the first encampment was removed from Columbia University, another one sprouted up.

Since then, encampments have been established at various universities across the nation such as Harvard University, Rutgers University, George Washington University, the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, and others.

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