Police arrest 12 pro-Palestinian protesters after they occupy a vacant building near UC Berkeley – NBC Bay Area

Protests at an occupied building near the University of California at Berkeley ended Thursday evening after a dozen pro-Palestinian demonstrators were removed from a building they had occupied for a day and arrested.

The UC-owned Anna Head building on Haste Street was taken over by protesters on Wednesday. The building has been abandoned and boarded up since a fire in 2022.

UC Associate Vice Chancellor Dan Mogulof said 12 protesters had been arrested, revising an earlier estimate of 15. Charges could include trespassing, vandalism and destruction of property, he said.

“We’re treating this for what it is, and it’s a crime scene,” Mogulof said.

By 10 p.m. Thursday, police activity at the scene was completed, he said. There were no reports of injuries during arrests or protests.

Shortly before 7 p.m., dozens of police officers from about 20 Bay Area agencies surrounded the building and set up barriers.

An evacuation operation was ordered and a short time later the police broke down the door of the building and began driving the demonstrators out of the building. Some protesters behind barriers chanted and taunted the police holding the line, while many others simply filmed the scene with their cellphones.

Some neighbors stood behind the protesters and watched, while others asked police for directions to get home around the barricades. From time to time, cries of “Free, Free Palestine” filled the air, while the sound of a battering ram emanated from the building’s entrance.

On Wednesday, some protesters entered the building through square holes in the surrounding fence to occupy it, while most protesters occupied the grassy area outside the fence. Protesters inside the fence put up banners and sprayed slogans with red paint on the building.

“This is Hind Hall (sic),” read one graffiti, alluding to the occupation of Hind’s Hall at Columbia University. Hind’s Hall was unofficially renamed from Hamilton Hall during April protests in New York City by pro-Palestinian demonstrators in honor of a six-year-old girl, Hind Rajab, who was killed in the conflict in Gaza.

Wednesday’s occupation of the building prompted a response from both police and UC Berkeley, which posted a WarnMe alert at 7:06 p.m. saying several dozen people broke into the building with sticks, crowbars and bolt cutters and windows were broken, fences were cut, etc. walls were sprayed.

The takeover of the building came just days after the UC Berkeley encampment was disbanded after student organizers reached an agreement with university officials on their demands.

It is unclear what specific demands will be made of the group occupying the abandoned building near campus, but the university said it is not affiliated with the student groups on campus.

Bay City News contributed to the report.