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STANFORD, Calif. — Stanford University said 13 people were arrested as law enforcement removed pro-Palestinian demonstrators who occupied a campus building early Wednesday, with the school saying there was damage inside and outside a building that houses the university president and provost offices.
The takeover began near dawn on the last day of classes for the spring quarter. Some protesters barricaded themselves inside while others linked arms outside, The Stanford Daily reported. The group chanted “Palestine will be free, we will free Palestine.”
The student newspaper said one of its reporters was among those detained.
Within about three hours, officers had broken into the building and began taking people into custody. Other protesters cheered as the detainees were escorted out of the building and loaded into law enforcement vehicles.
The building was cleared and the protest didn’t affect any other campus activities, university spokesperson Dee Mostofi said in an email to The Associated Press.
The university said that students who participated in the protest would be immediately suspended, and any seniors would not be allowed to graduate.
“We are appalled that our students chose to take this action and we will work with law enforcement to ensure that they face the full consequences allowed by law,” the university said in a statement.
An officer was lightly injured when he was shoved by protesters who were interfering with a transport vehicle, Mostofi said.
Mostofi said there was “extensive damage” to the building but didn’t give any details. An AP journalist on campus saw the pale sandstone walls spraypainted with political slogans. Video posted on social media showed police busting in a door. Other photos showed an office desk splattered with a red liquid.
The AP has recorded at least 86 incidents since April 18 where arrests were made at campus protests across the U.S. More than 3,130 people have been arrested on the campuses of 65 colleges and universities. The figures are based on AP reporting and statements from universities and law enforcement agencies.
Students demand their universities stop doing business with Israel or companies that support its war efforts. Organizers seek to amplify calls to end Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza, which they describe as a genocide against the Palestinians.
Columbia University agreed to take additional steps to make students feel secure on campus under a settlement reached with a Jewish student Tuesday.
Israel faces growing international criticism for its strategy of systematic destruction in Gaza, at a huge cost in civilian lives. Israeli bombardments and ground offensives in the besieged territory have killed more than 36,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between combatants and civilians.
The top United Nations court has concluded there is a “plausible risk of genocide” in Gaza — a charge Israel strongly denies.
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Antczak reported from Los Angeles. Associated Press journalists Olga R. Rodriguez in San Francisco and Christopher L. Keller in Albuquerque, New Mexico, contributed to this report.
