5 MSU students arrested at pro-Palestine protest, organizers say

EAST LANSING, Mich. (WLNS) — Five Michigan State University students have been arrested by the MSU Police Department following a sit-in protest at the Hannah Administration Building, according to the group that organized the protest.

According to a spokesperson for the Hurriya Coalition, the pro-Palestinian student advocacy group on campus, the students were staging a sit-in at the building with the following demands for the university:

• Develop a timeline for divesting entirely from weapons manufacturers and the state of Israel.
• Issue an apology for making false claims about Pres. Gukiewicz’s presence at Students for Justice in Palestine’s vigil on October 7th, and for attempting to walk a K9 unit through the peaceful gathering.
• Publicly condemn Turning Point USA’s racist re-painting of “The Rock” on Indigenous People’s Day, and meet with the North American Indigenous Student Organization, and move towards restorative measures for the attempted erasure of these students’ demands.

News Release, Hurriya Coalition, Oct. 25, 2025

The Hurriya Coalition says that earlier on Friday, 40 students representing the coalition staged a walkout at the MSU Board of Trustees meeting and began their sit-in at the building, organizing art projects and holding a teach-in on divestment.

While the coalition says Trustee Brianna Scott spoke with the group for 10 minutes, they were not satisfied with the discussion.

“They keep telling us that they’re powerless, but all it took for MSU to divest in 1978 was one brave trustee to put a motion on the table,” says Hurriya organizer Ateeyah Abdul-Wasi.

At approximately 7:15 p.m. Friday, 5 students were arrested after police arrived on the scene.

“This makes a mockery of the President’s call for a ‘civil discourse.’ Civil discourse is not possible in an environment of intimidation,” says Abdul-Wasi.

6 News has reached out to the MSU Police Department for comment but we have not yet received a response.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WLNS 6 News.