University of Minnesota Police Department (UMPD) officers arrested 11 protesters for property damage, trespassing and rioting, with one count of fourth-degree assault for occupying and barricading Morrill Hall on Monday.
Eight of the arrested protesters were students and three were alumni, according to a University spokesperson. All involved are being investigated for criminal charges and are being held without bail.
The protesters were brought to Hennepin County jail after about 20 locked entrances to the building, spray-painted security cameras, smashed interior windows and piled chairs, tables and waste bins in front of exits. A group gathered outside of the building in downtown Minneapolis to protest the arrests.
The University sent a SAFE-U alert shortly after 5 p.m. Tuesday stating 12 east bank buildings are locked until further notice due to a rally hosted by Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) outside of Coffman Memorial Union protesting the University’s use of force.
Ali Abu, a member of SJP, said Cunningham lied about events inside the building, such as protesters preventing employees from leaving. SJP is a member group of the University Divestment Coalition but did not participate in the demonstrations and was not aware until shortly before protesters entered the building.
Abu said the demonstration was a success and a culmination of months of protests and attributed the cancellation of Dr. Anthony Fauci’s speaking visit, scheduled for 6 p.m. at Northrop, to Monday’s events.
In a statement Tuesday morning, University President Rebecca Cunningham said the experience was “terrifying” for employees still inside the building who were unable to exit “for an extended period of time.”
Three employees inside the building attempted to leave through locked exits, and protesters told the employees they could leave but only through one set of doors.
Monday’s occupation was not the first occupation Morrill Hall has seen — in January 1969, about 70 Black students peacefully occupied the bursar’s and records office in the building for 24 hours to protest institutional racism at the University and hostile treatment of Black students. The takeover led to the University establishing the Department of African American & African Studies.
The next step for the University Divestment Coalition is outreach and finding people “who were inspired by the brave actions that happened yesterday, get them to actually show up consistently and get involved,” said Isabel Eguizabal, a divestment coalition delegate for Young Democratic-Socialists of America.
“If we want to get the whole tomato, then we have to get a mass movement,” Eguizabal said.
Minneapolis City Council Member Robin Wonsley released a statement Tuesday urging “UMPD to drop all charges and remove the probable cause charge so that students can be released on bail immediately.”