Students arrested after pro-Palestinian sit-in at NMSU

UPDATE: New Mexico State University issued the following statement regarding the protest:

“Late Thursday afternoon, a group of protesters gathered at Hadley Hall on the campus of New Mexico State University. The building closes for business at 5:00 p.m. Over the course of an hour, the group was repeatedly asked to leave the building. Shortly before 6 p.m., the… The group was told they would face arrest if they did not leave the premises. NMSU police arrested 13 people on various charges, including criminal trespass, resisting/obstructing an officer, assault on a peace officer and criminal damage to property. The building was evacuated and is open for business Friday.

New Mexico State University

LAS CRUCES, N.M. (KVIA) — Arrests occurred during a pro-Palestinian sit-in at New Mexico State University, according to KOAT, our news partner in Albuquerque.

Dylan Davis, a student protester, says a group of students came to Hadley Hall at NMSU to present UTEP President Mónica Torres with a petition calling on the university to call for a ceasefire in Gaza. The petition had garnered 500 signatures in less than a day.

However, upon his arrival, Dylan said the offices were locked and the president had left the office through the back door.

“So we decided to go ahead and sit in the lobby, link arms with each other and wait for them to hear our demands,” Davis said in an interview with KOAT.

Within five minutes, police arrived at Hadley Hall and told students they had until 5 p.m. to leave the building. After 5 p.m., officers began blocking off the building and not allowing anyone, including a legal observer from the American Civil Liberties Union, into the building, according to Davis.

The pro-Palestinian organization Las Cruces for Palestine posted videos of the protest on its Instagram and encouraged students to protest outside Hadley Hall. Video from the report shows a police officer knocking a person to the ground in front of Hadley Hall. Other videos show students crossing their arms and chanting in protest.

Davis said 11 people were arrested at the protest, including 10 students.

“They appeased us and our demands and assured us that they were working closely together to show solidarity with us in Palestine, and they lied to us,” Davis said during the interview with KOAT.

We reached out to UTEP for comment on the protest but have not yet heard back.

We will continue to update as we learn more.