COLUMBUS, Ohio — Thirty-six people were arrested during a protest on Ohio State’s main campus Thursday night.
A large crowd of people gathered on campus Thursday evening to support Palestine and called for a ceasefire in the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.
Ohio State University spokesperson Ben Johnson said 16 of the people arrested are OSU students and 20 of them were not affiliated with the university.
Law enforcement agencies, such as the Ohio State University Police Department and the Ohio State Highway Patrol, were present to control the crowd.
Johnson told 10TV in a statement that Ohio State rules prohibit camping and overnight events.
"Demonstrators exercised their first amendment rights for several hours and were then instructed to disperse. Individuals who refused to leave after multiple warnings were arrested and charged with criminal trespass," Johnson said.
State Rep. Munira Abdullahi released a statement Friday saying that she attended Thursday's protest where she was injured.
Abdullahi said she sustained bruising around her ribs and midsection after being pushed to the ground.
"What was a calm and respectful protest was quickly escalated by police officers dressed in riot gear. They surrounded us at a moment when we were supporting students who were conducting prayer. I was grabbed by my headscarf. I was pushed toward the ground on to students," she said.
Earlier in the day, three people were arrested during another protest on campus. An encampment was set up near the student union center and social media posts indicate that plans for an encampment were planned at the South Oval in support of Palestine.
Those arrested include a graduate student, a university employee and someone not affiliated with the university.
On Tuesday, two people were arrested during a protest on campus. About 50 protesters gathered at a campus amphitheater to share stories about their connections to the Palestinian people before marching.
Johnson said university policy “prohibits camping and requires a space reservation for gatherings.”
The three people were issued multiple warnings to leave before they were arrested, Johnson said.
While stopping at a building on the university’s medical campus, two individuals became “disruptive,” Johnson said. Per university policy, the students who were arrested will be referred to the student conduct office. They were also charged with criminal trespass.
Student protests over the Israel-Hamas war have popped up on an increasing number of U.S. college campuses following last week’s arrest of more than 100 demonstrators at Columbia University.
The students are calling for universities to separate themselves from any companies that are advancing Israel’s military efforts in Gaza — and in some cases from Israel itself. Protests on many campuses have been orchestrated by coalitions of student groups.
The groups largely act independently, though students say they’re inspired by peers at other universities.