Dozens of police officers, using riot shields and, at times, chemical irritants, cleared a demonstration at the University of Virginia Saturday afternoon.
The demonstration against the ongoing war in Gaza began several days earlier and had remained peaceful and relatively small. A message from UVA President Jim Ryan said the situation began to change Friday night when "individuals unaffiliated with the University – who also presented some safety concerns –" joined them. Ryan's letter said university police chief Tim Longo made a final warning about compliance with university policies early Saturday morning.
Ryan said the attempts to resolve the situation were met with physical confrontation and state police were called to assist. Ryan wrote "...this repeated and intentional refusal to comply with reasonable rules intended to secure the safety, operations, and rights of the entire university community left us with no other choice than to uphold the neutral application and enforcement of those rules." The much larger force of officers declared an unlawful assembly Saturday afternoon and began to push demonstrators out of the area.
Some scuffles ensued and police sprayed chemical irritants at demonstrators from time to time. In a later statement, UVA said 25 people were arrested.
Afterward, students and some faculty decried both the size of the police response and the use of force against what they said had been a peaceful demonstration. They also expressed disappointment with university administration for its response to the demands of protesters.
