Demonstrators at Emory University protesting in support of Palestinians and against a planned “Cop City” training center were subject to increasingly violent arrests on Thursday as Atlanta police attempted to shut down their protests.
Around 10:20 a.m., officers from the Emory Police Department, Atlanta Police Department, and state troopers used tear gas, tasers, and zip ties to disperse an encampment set up that morning on the university’s quad, Emory’s student-run newspaper The Emory Wheel reported.
Congressman Mike Collins sociopathically endorses tasing people who are handcuffed on the ground. pic.twitter.com/vxwkOEjymt
— Read Let This Radicalize You (@JoshuaPHilll) April 25, 2024
Authorities seen making arrests, firing pepper balls and forcing students out at Emory University in Georgia https://t.co/Hsc08mTyho pic.twitter.com/kQ55OELn30
— philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) April 25, 2024
In a statement by the Atlanta Police Department, officers confirmed the use of “chemical irritants” against the protesters, who they said were resisting arrest.
“At Emory’s request, law enforcement began assisting Emory PD in securing the campus. When this happened, law enforcement officers were met with violence. We are aware APD officers used chemical irritants during the incident,” the statement reads. “However, APD did not deploy rubber bullets.”
A university spokesperson said the arrests were meant to crackdown on outside instigators who aimed to disrupt campus life. They denied the arrested were students or otherwise affiliated with Emory.
“Several dozen protesters trespassed into Emory University’s campus early Thursday morning and set up tents on the Quad. These individuals are not members of our community. They are activists attempting to disrupt our university as our students finish classes and prepare for finals,” the university’s statement reads.
It was unclear how many arrests had been made.