Emory in Atlanta is latest university to crack down on protests

Police officers swept onto the ordinarily serene campus of Emory University in Atlanta on Thursday, using what their department later described as “chemical irritants” to help subdue demonstrators. It was one of the latest clashes between police forces and a pro-Palestinian protest movement that has cascaded across American campuses.

More than 400 protesters have been taken into police custody on campuses nationwide since April 18, when the arrests of more than 100 protesters at Columbia University in New York set off a fresh wave of student activism.

Administrators have responded by calling in law enforcement, removing encampments, scaling back graduation plans and threatening academic consequences. The crackdown comes as some politicians have demanded a stronger response, saying the rhetoric and actions of some protesters puts Jewish students in danger.

Police in Boston arrested 108 protesters at Emerson College late Wednesday, just hours after Los Angeles police arrested 93 people who had refused to disperse on the University of Southern California campus. In each case, it was unclear how many of the arrested demonstrators were students.

Earlier Wednesday, dozens of police officers, many of them in riot gear and some on horseback, arrested 57 people at the University of Texas at Austin. A school spokesperson said about half of those detained were unaffiliated with the university, and Diana Melendez, a spokesperson for the county attorney’s office, said charges against many had been dropped after the office found legal “deficiencies” in their arrests.

At Emory on Thursday morning, demonstrators screamed as police wrestled with protesters on the ground and escorted others away. Protesters accused the officers of using pepper spray or tear gas to break up their encampment.

The Atlanta Police Department said in a statement that its officers had “used chemical irritants during the incident.” Separately, video footage reviewed by The New York Times showed a state trooper appearing to use a stun device on a demonstrator who was on the ground.

An Emory spokesperson, Laura Diamond, said protesters were “activists attempting to disrupt our university as our students finish classes and prepare for finals.” The university, Diamond added, “does not tolerate vandalism or other criminal activity on our campus.”

Later Thursday, Emory said in a separate statement that “a couple of dozen people” had been taken into custody but that the university could not say whether any charges had been filed.

As universities struggled to quell the unrest, some lawmakers have called for stronger tactics, including House Speaker Mike Johnson, who during a visit to Columbia on Wednesday asked the White House to take action and said it should eventually consider using military force.

Universities have deployed police and suspended students under pressure from such lawmakers, as well as donors and alumni, who have called the demonstrations antisemitic.

Still, new protests continue to erupt. Many student activists say they are galvanized by the clampdowns on largely peaceful protests on other campuses and want their universities to sever financial ties to companies that protesters say make weapons being used on Palestinians.