University of Chicago police clear out encampments protesting war on Gaza

CHICAGO — University of Chicago police cleared out anti-war encampments set up by students protesting Israel’s war on Gaza on the school’s main quad early Tuesday morning.

On what would have been the ninth day of encampment, university police took down tents, tore down anti-war signs and began to block off many entrances to the main quad just before 5 a.m.

Police threw out flyers into the crowd with a final warning before students would be arrested.

The flyer stated that students who would be arrested will face disciplinary charges and be placed on disciplinary leave of absence. The arrest wound be for criminal trespassing.

University of Chicago faculty members speak out in support of student protestors

A number of protestors have moved out of the quad and towards the west side of the quad.

It is still unclear how many protesters are still present on the quad. There has been no word on any arrests.

President of University of Chicago Paul Alivisatos released a statement saying that although protest is a strongly protected form of speech in the UChicago culture, these protests interfered with free expression, learning and work of others.

The encampments were removed early Tuesday morning.

“Over multiple days, including through the weekend, we engaged with the representatives of the encampment to work toward a resolution. There were areas where we were able to achieve common ground, but ultimately a number of the intractable and inflexible aspects of their demands were fundamentally incompatible with the University’s principled dedication to institutional neutrality. As such, we could not come to a resolution.

This story is currently developing and WGN will update as more information is provided.

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