7 Arrested As Police End Johns Hopkins University Protest

BALTIMORE, MD — Seven people were arrested Wednesday at Johns Hopkins University after campus officials asked the Baltimore Police Department to bring a sit-in to a close. The measure came a week after demonstrators chained shut Garland Hall, the administrative building on campus, as part of a monthlong protest that escalated to a takeover of the building on May 1.

They were protesting the privatization of a police force at Johns Hopkins University and the university's contracts with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE.

Five people were arrested for trespassing, the Baltimore Police Department reported, after the university asked officers to assist in reopening the building at 5:50 a.m. on Wednesday, May 8.

"Early this morning, we made the difficult decision to call upon local fire and police personnel to help our university bring an end to the lengthy occupation of Garland Hall by students and outside activists, a situation that had become increasingly unsafe," according to a statement from President Ronald J. Daniels and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs Sunil Kumar.

"The university’s request for assistance was based on grave concerns about the unsafe circumstances in and around Garland Hall and followed multiple offers of amnesty from university officials and warnings from the police if the protesters left the building," officials said.

Outside Garland Hall, two more people were arrested outside for "impeding vehicular traffic," police said.

Those individuals laid down in front of a police vehicle that was taking a transgender student to a male detention facility, WBAL reported.

"Over these past five weeks, the university made every effort to accommodate the underlying protest because we hold so firmly to the belief in free expression," university officials said. "But what began as a demonstration against university policies in recent days took a turn, as students and outside activists chained the doors closed, blocked exits and entrances to the building, harassed and intimidated our staff, and physically prevented fellow students from receiving essential services. This was no longer a peaceful show of civil disobedience, but instead a forcible occupation of a university building in contravention of the law and university code of conduct."

Those inside the building were given several warnings and requests by officers for them to leave, according to police. The five who remained were arrested for trespassing.

The Baltimore State's Attorney Office announced that those who were arrested will not face charges.

"Our office will not prosecute the seven Johns Hopkins students arrested," Melba Saunders, spokesperson for the state's attorney's office, said in a statement. "Today all charges brought against the students will be abated by arrest.“