Police clear Wayne State University encampment, arrest a dozen protesters

Police officers from Wayne State University cleared an encampment of pro-Palestinian protesters early Thursday. Students there had spent almost a week camped on a lawn at the center of campus.

Protesters had said they would not leave until Wayne State divests from weapons manufacturers and guarantees that campus police leaders won’t return to Israel for training , among other demands.

More than 36,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israel since Oct. 7, when Hamas militants launched an attack that killed more than 1,200 Israelis. Since May 6, Israeli forces have killed at least 45 Palestinians during its military offensive in Rafah, where displaced Palestinian refugees were sheltered. More than 1 million people have fled the city as a result.

Wayne State Vice President for Government and Community Affairs Patrick Lindsey had called the encampment a “trespass,” and the university moved to remote operations on Tuesday, citing an “ongoing public safety issue.” The campus remained remote Thursday.

When Outlier Media visited the encampment on Tuesday afternoon, the only apparent tension came from two evangelical Christian counterprotesters, who brought a microphone and speakers to lecture protesters. The mood was calm, even sleepy. Protesters had been up all night bracing for a raid by campus police that didn’t materialize until days later.

The university had offered to meet with students Tuesday, but they declined to meet alone with Wayne State President Kimberly Andrews Espy and her staff, insisting that she needed to address the campus openly.

Espy did not accept the students’ invitation to visit the encampment again Wednesday evening or meet with students about their demands. She said in a statement that police repeatedly demanded the protesters disperse before the raid, and that many did.

On Thursday, around 5:30 a.m., as many people at the encampment were still sleeping, police moved in. University spokesperson Matt Lockwood confirmed that 12 people were arrested, mostly for trespassing, but he is unsure how many were students.

Wayne State student Jo Blocton, who volunteered as a medic at the encampment and uses the pronoun they, said they started a timer as soon as the police ordered protesters to evacuate within 10 minutes.

“They entered the encampment around minute eight,” Blocton said.

Once inside the encampment, police “started breaking down our barricade and taking tents out,” said another student protester, who asked not to be identified. “We were walking back but standing our ground and chanting, ‘We want divestment … We’re students here, why do they have riot gear?’”

Officers brought a dumpster and a bulldozer, and the encampment site was fully cleared by midmorning Thursday, said Dalton Bradford, another protester.

U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib, who has been supportive of the encampment, arrived Thursday after protesters had been moved to Anthony Wayne Drive. Tlaib confronted police after hearing they arrested three Muslim women during the raid. She declined to comment further.

Luay Abuelenain told Outlier his wife, daughter and niece were arrested. He said he and his family were walking away from the encampment when police shoved him and his son out of the way to arrest the three women.

In videos shared on social media, the woman Abuelenain said is his niece — 19-year-old Nazmia Abdrabah — is seen with her hijab originally in place. Shortly after a chaotic shuffle, she is seen sitting on the ground being arrested. Her hair has been uncovered, in violation of Muslim beliefs.

Photos and video of the incident reviewed by Outlier but not being republished show the woman attempting to keep her hijab on her head and someone appearing to pull it off. Another video shows an officer putting it back on as protesters yelled, “Fix her scarf!”

Abuelenain compared the experience of a Muslim woman’s hijab being forcibly removed to being sexually assaulted.

Protesters regrouped and marched to Warren Avenue shortly after. They continued chanting, “40,000 people dead, you’re arresting us instead.” Drivers honked their horns as they rode by. Police wearing body armor with face shields and batons moved from Anthony Wayne to Warren and lined up behind the protesters.

“They’re trying to use fear as a tactic to get us to disperse,” one protester said , addressing the crowd. “They try to use fear as a tactic to get us to stay silent … because it disrupts the oppressive system. Instead of us backing down, we build even stronger.”

Blocton said the encampment strengthened the pro-Palestinian movement at Wayne State.

“I’ve never felt like everyone was so together and involved,” Blocton said. “It was so well organized and the sense of community was so great. … That’s the type of spirit you can’t break.”

As of publication, protesters had gathered outside the Detroit Detention Center on Mound Road, where they believe arrested protesters are being held.

Police clear Wayne State University encampment, arrest a dozen protesters · Outlier Media