Police arrest pro-Palestinian protesters at the University of Tennessee

Police arrested pro-Palestinian protesters on the University of Tennessee campus.

Around 8 p.m., protesters were asked to leave the lawn in front of the College of Law by Allen Bolton, UT’s interim senior vice chancellor for finance and administration. He said the demonstrators could move to the student union lawn reserved for them.

He asked activists to leave the law school lawn within 10 minutes. When that deadline expired, police began arresting protesters.

This is what happened:

Yassin Terou was taken to hospital after his arrest

Restaurant owner Yassin Terou was hospitalized at the University of Tennessee Medical Center on Wednesday evening after he was one of 11 people arrested by University of Tennessee police during a pro-Palestinian demonstration on the lawn of the College of Law on campus were arrested.

Terou is the well-known owner of Yassin’s Falafel House. He received the 2018 Peace Prize from the Rotary Club of Knoxville and was named the 2018 Knoxville News Sentinel Person of the Year. His restaurant was named “The Most Beautiful Place in America” by Reader’s Digest in 2018. Terou is a refugee from war-torn Syria and received his American citizenship in 2020.

Two of the people arrested during the demonstrations requested hospitalization.

Community members gather at the Knox County Jail

Thirteen people have gathered at the Roger D. Wilson Detention Center in northeast Knox County to seek answers about the whereabouts of the 11 people arrested on the lawn of the University of Tennessee College of Law in Knoxville.

Among those gathered is Knoxville Councilwoman Amelia Parker.

“I cannot imagine that any offenses they may have committed would warrant a prison sentence. That’s why I’m here to support the community and their right to protest and to gain a better understanding of why this was necessary in the first place.” “There are no arrests at all,” Parker told Knox News.

A correctional officer at the prison told Knox News he doesn’t expect anyone to be released until after midnight at the earliest. The detained people are brought before a judge via video conference. Some could be released on their own recognizance, the official said.

University confirms 11 arrests

A university spokesman said shortly before 10 p.m. that officers with the University of Tennessee Police Department had made 11 arrests this evening. Nine were taken to the Knox County Jail and two were taken to a hospital at their request.

A confirmed UT student is among those arrested, and police are trying to determine the identities of the others, who declined to say who they were.

University responds to arrests

Tisha Benton, a spokeswoman for the university, told Knox News that police officers attempted to clear protesters from the law school lawn and those who stood firm were arrested. The location of the vigil was not within the area of the student union reserved for the demonstrators. “Our goal is to manage the campus for everyone, and that’s how we do it,” Benton said. “To create space for free expression and to ensure that everyone on campus can do what they can.”

In an Instagram post earlier in the day, the Gaza Elementary School called on protesters to hold a Nakba Day vigil at 7 p.m. and asked them to meet on the law school lawn.

Nakba Day marks the date of Israel’s Declaration of Independence and commemorates the expulsion of Palestinians before and after the founding of Israel on May 14, 1948.

Protesters check on their colleagues in prison

Twenty-one protesters remained on campus after several others went to the Knox County Jail to check on those arrested.

The group splits up to pray while others continue to protest

Eleven protesters walked back to the reserved space in front of the student union to pray, while about 35 protesters remained on the public sidewalk in front of the law school.

The officers, who were standing on the lawn of the College of Law, left the building at 9:15 p.m., about an hour after the arrests.

Those arrested were taken to the Knox County Jail

Mike Whalen, a local attorney, told Knox News the protesters were taken to the Knox County Jail.

A University of Tennessee administrator had warned protesters before the arrests that if they didn’t move they would be jailed for trespassing.

14 arrested

Fourteen people were arrested, legal observers told Knox News. (UPDATE: Around 10 p.m., university officials confirmed to Knox News that 11 people had been arrested.)

Those arrested included Yassin Terou, a Knoxville restaurant owner and refugee from Syria who gained American citizenship in 2020. Terou was a constant presence at the demonstrations, often bringing food to those stationed on campus for hours.

Six UT police officers still stand at the corner of James Agee and Cumberland Avenue, near the corner of the law school.

The demonstrations on the sidewalk in front of the College of Law continue

Those who were not arrested moved to the sidewalk and continued to protest. The group is growing.

People driving by on Cumberland Avenue wave flags and keffiyahs, a traditional Middle Eastern scarf, in support.

A car with four young men drove around the block a few times and one of the occupants yelled, “USA! USA!” at the demonstrators. The demonstrators responded: “USA! USA!”

Students leave the torch night to attend demonstrations

Groups of students in academic gowns who had gathered at Ayres Hall for Torch Night, a finals week event, have begun walking past the scene of the arrests. Some joined in with a chant of “Free, free Palestine!”

University of Tennessee Demonstration Rules

UT administrators have consistently said they respect protesters’ right to free speech. They also set time and location restrictions on the group, which are constitutional restrictions. The group can meet on the lawn of the student union from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m

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