Officers used tear gas to disperse activists at Emory University campus amid a nationwide crackdown
Police officers in the US state of Georgia used tear gas and tasers to disperse a pro-Palestinian student encampment on Thursday, as law enforcement targeted activists at university campuses nationwide.
The clashes took place at Emory University in Atlanta, where activists – including students from several nearby universities – set up tents in the morning. They were rallying against what they termed “the genocide of Palestinians” by Israel, and against Cop City, a local police and fire department training center currently under construction.
“We are demanding total institutional divestment from Israeli apartheid and Cop City at all Atlanta colleges and universities,” an organizer said. “We are occupying Emory, not because it is the only institution that is complicit in genocide and police militarization, but because its ties are some of the strongest.”
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The university said in a statement that several dozen people “trespassed” on its campus, and warned that it would “not tolerate vandalism or other criminal activity.” Members of the Emory Police Department, Atlanta Police, and Georgia State Patrol were called to the scene, according to local media.
”Atlanta community members were indiscriminately attacked today with pepper bullets, tear gas, and tasers for the simple act of camping out on a school lawn” in a political protest, the organizers said.
Extremely disturbing footage. Atlanta cops tasing a restrained student protester at Emory university minutes ago.