Early on Wednesday morning, on the third day of the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s pro-Palestininan encampment in front of Library Mall, police from multiple agencies arrived to remove students camping in protest of Israel’s genocide on Gaza and demanding UW-Madison’s disclosure and divestments from Israel.
Eye witnesses said that a group of around 10-20 UWPD arrived at the encampment at around 7 a.m. to make a megaphone announcement, informing those camping that they would have 15 minutes to take down their tents, as they were violating campus protocol.
Community member Fernando Perez described the scene prior to the police arrival: “A lot of [the students] were just asleep, they weren’t doing anything. People were just hanging out and talking about the day,” they said. “They started closing in after 15 minutes.”
A sophomore named Tommy said that after a very peaceful evening on April 30, students anticipated some sort of police presence the next morning. Protesters woke each other up shortly after the police arrived. Officers began by destroying the left hand side of the encampment.
“I saw them using knives to destroy the tarps and garbage bags around the food area. Things like that,” Tommy said. “And as they moved forward, they got more in number and aggression.”
Perez said that Madison Police Department officers and state police arrived much later after the tents were taken down, armed with batons. Tommy said that around 8:15 a.m., cops arrested about 12-15 people in a first wave of arrests.
“It was very scary. People were dragging their feet but what would happen is maybe three or four cops [per person] would come up and drag people by their bodies,” he said.
Around 8:50 a.m., officers once again began forcefully pushing protesters off the green areas directly in front of Memorial Library. Faculty members and community members linked arms to form a barrier between the students and the officers and to help them stand their ground.
Police officers arrested faculty members and students with zip ties and brought them to the far left side of Memorial Union, where they would then be processed. Gender & Women’s Studies professors Dr. Sami Schalk and Dr. Kelly Ward were among those arrested.
Dr. Anna Campbell, who is also a member of the Gender & Women’s Studies department, has been at the encampment on and off since it was first erected on April 29. They said that professors are “using their leverage” to support “their students and the right to student protest.” On Schalk and Ward’s arrests, they said: “I’m really proud to be their colleague.”
One student who goes by the name Jelly was released shortly after their arrest. “They took our IDs, took pictures of us, tried to make conversation, and released us.” Jelly added that in the moment, officers were trying to confirm with each other what individuals were being arrested for, and settled on camping citations.
While they were shaken up, Jelly reiterated their commitment to the cause: “I was expecting to get arrested and I’m here to stay. I plan to stay here as long as people are here. I’m here showing up for Palestine, showing up for Gaza, showing up for ending the war.”
Police officers left the scene shortly after the second wave of arrests, piling into a bus on Park St. a ways down from where individuals were being processed.
At about 9:30 a.m., Dean of Students Christina Olstad and Chief of Staff for the Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs Argyle Wade arrived on the premises. Students were quick to confront the two administrators and pushed them out, expressing shame and disgust.
About ten minutes before, a student organizer made a mass announcement in light of the morning’s events. “What we just saw, it was traumatic, it was hard, we [keep] our community safe. We are here for Palestine. We had our books, our food, our community kitchen, and they came and took that shit down.”
The students stand undeterred. A remaining three tents are still erected, and organizers are planning to put up more. Programming for the day will resume, including crocheting, teach-ins about anti-imperialism and labor struggles, and more.
This is an evolving story. Updates will be published to madison365.org.
