Approximately 100 people were arrested at Northeastern University on Saturday morning during a protest supporting Palestine, the university reported.
The university’s police department, along with local law enforcement, began dismantling an “unauthorized encampment” on the Boston campus early Saturday. The encampment had been set up at Centennial Common earlier in the week, and the protesters were instructed to leave.
State Police officers from Massachusetts started arresting non-student protesters and removing some of the encampments in the early hours of Saturday morning.
“What began as a student demonstration two days ago was infiltrated by professional organizers with no affiliation to Northeastern,” the university said in a statement on X, a social media platform.
“As part of clearing the site, approximately 100 individuals were detained by police,” the university stated.
The school clarified that students who showed a valid Northeastern ID were let go and would face disciplinary proceedings within the university, not legal action.
“Those who refused to disclose their affiliation were arrested,” the school added.
The university explained that it took action to dismantle the protest encampments after “virulent antisemitic slurs” became part of the protests.
“We cannot tolerate this kind of hate on our campus,” the university’s statement read.
“We’re here because our university refuses to even address the catastrophic humanitarian crisis that the Genocide against Palestinians had created,” the group said on Instagram. “Northeastern refuses to cut ties to weapon manufacturers doing business with the Israeli military.”
Northeastern later confirmed that Centennial Common was “fully secured,” and campus operations had returned to “normal.”
