U.Va. President and police chief explain why 27 people were arrested during campus protests in Gaza

The president and police chief of the University of Virginia have explained why they decided Saturday to dismantle a pro-Palestinian camp on campus, which led to police arresting 27 people who opposed the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza protested.

While protesters claimed the law enforcement response was heavy-handed, U.Va. President James Ryan, U.Va. Police Chief Tim Longo and other university officials held a virtual town hall meeting Tuesday to explain the steps that led to state police using pepper spray and arresting 27 people for trespassing.

Ryan and Longo said police and university officials told protesters, who had set up 22 tents on a lawn in front of the school chapel on Friday, that they could stay but that their tents would have to be taken down.

By Saturday morning, Longo felt the situation was escalating, so he, Ryan and other university leaders, in coordination with state police, made an attempt to head off a violent confrontation.

“We have made the decision to end the protests and clear the area,” Ryan said. “We felt the situation was escalating and had the potential to get out of control.”

Longo said police have increasingly told protesters they must vacate their tents or face trespassing charges.

“My warning was clear,” Longo said. “The tents had to be taken down. They were welcome to stay, but the tents had to be taken down.”

As Longo and other officers approached the crowd, he claimed they were surrounded by protesters: “So I stepped back.”

Longo and Ryan said the protest leaders chose not to communicate directly with university officials, so the messages were relayed through intermediaries.

“According to them, they had a duty to fight for their cause, they had a duty to win and they had nothing to lose,” Longo said. “Their actions and words led me to conclude that voluntarily complying with my request was not an option they would consider.”

Longo and Ryan said protesters physically resisted, in some cases swinging their arms at university officials who were wearing their regular uniforms.

“It was clear to me through words and actions that the situation was escalating and I was concerned,” Longo said.

“My fear was that if active resistance continued to escalate, it would be met with appropriate force to overcome that resistance and the possibility of an escalation of violence was possible and likely,” he said.

Once the decision was made for what Longo called a small group of state troopers to intervene, arrests quickly came.

“Once the field force intervened and used their shields to disperse the crowd, the camp was cleared in about 15 minutes,” Longo said.

A police officer was injured by a frozen water bottle. Longo said there were no serious injuries reported by protesters and those affected by pepper spray were offered water to rinse their eyes.

In his six years as university president, Ryan said he and his colleagues have worked hard to build trust with students, faculty, staff and the Charlottesville community.

“I am fully and painfully aware that we lost some of that trust on Saturday and that it is very difficult to regain that trust,” Ryan said. “At the same time, as president, I have a duty to make decisions that I believe are in the best interest of the entire community, not one part of it.”

According to Ryan, “These are not win-win decisions, but they must be made.”

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