12 Arrested At Pro-Palestinian Protests At FL Universities: Reports

FLORIDA — With pro-Palestinian protests sweeping college campuses across the nation as tensions escalate in the Israel-Hamas war, 12 people were arrested Monday at two Florida universities, multiple reports said.

Nine protesters were arrested at the University of Florida in Gainesville by the campus police department and the Florida Highway Patrol, according to ClickOrlando.com.

Another three protesters — one student, one employee and one person not affiliated with the university — were arrested at a rally at the University of South Florida in Tampa, Fox 13 reported.

Around noon, the Tampa Bay Students for a Democratic Society, a student organization placed on interim suspension last week for “causing a disruption on campus,” tried to hold a protest outside the USF Tampa library, the university told WTSP.

Protesters chanting “ceasefire now," as opposing groups held Israeli flags, demanded that the university support Palestinian students and student movements, and cut ties with companies they believe are pro-Israel, reports said.

“Suspended student organizations are not permitted to host events and activities, which the group was made aware of several times prior to today’s protest, including another reminder this morning,” USF said. “When the student organization attempted to hold a protest anyway, university staff informed them that they were not authorized to continue.”

The Tampa Bay Students for a Democratic Society wrote in an Instagram post that Monday’s initial shut down of their protest was “an attempt to limit (their) free speech.”

Once the protest was dispersed, they decided “to set up a Gaza solidarity encampment at USF,” the organization said.

As they set up tents and tarps, USF police were sent in to shut it down, leading to the three arrests. Those arrested include Simon Rowe, a USF alumni, the society said.

“Florida’s universities are weaponizing the police to silence student protests against their complicity in the ethnic cleansing of Gaza,” the organization wrote in another Instagram post.

The group plans to continue its protests Tuesday.

“The University of South Florida values the right to free speech and protecting the constitutional right for individuals and groups on campus to express themselves. This includes peaceful protests and demonstrations that occur regularly on USF’s three campuses without incident and are part of the public discourse of a university,” USF said in a statement. “However, the expression of free speech must remain peaceful and not violate the law or USF policies. The university has been clear that violence, threats, harassment and disruptions will not be tolerated.”