More than half of protesters arrested at Northeastern not affiliated with university, school says

BOSTON — More than half of the 98 protesters arrested at Northeastern University last weekend are not affiliated with the large urban school in Boston, university officials said Thursday.

The recent arrests on the Northeastern campus came amid pro-Palestinian protests on college campuses in the Boston area and across the nation.

Protesters who set up a tent encampment on Northeastern’s campus are among campus protesters across the country who are calling for schools to cut financial ties to Israel.

“The encampment was an unauthorized occupation of university space. Protesters not affiliated with Northeastern were trespassing on private property,” Northeastern officials said in a statement on Thursday.

Additionally, “Northeastern students involved in the protest were in violation of longstanding university policy on demonstrations. The policy is included in the Code of Student Conduct,” university officials said.

According to the police report, 98 people were arrested last weekend, including 29 Northeastern students and 6 Northeastern faculty and staff, university officials said.

“The balance, 63 individuals, are not affiliated with Northeastern,” university officials said.

Northeastern officials said “numerous attempts” were made by the university’s Student Life staff to engage directly with the protesters but “were repeatedly rejected.”

“The decision to disperse the encampment was made 24 hours in advance of Saturday morning’s action by NUPD and its law enforcement partners,” university officials said. “Over the course of two days, a steadily growing number of protesters were not affiliated with the university. The Northeastern University Police Department concluded that the protest would soon present a threat to the safety of all involved.”

Protesters were “given several advance notices that the encampment would be dismantled, and they were offered multiple opportunities to leave and face no legal consequences,” school officials said.

Several protesters that that opportunity, and those who refused to leave were detained by police, university officials said.

“Students who produced a valid Northeastern ID before arrest were released and will face disciplinary proceedings in accordance with the Code Student of Conduct, not legal action,” university officials said. “Those not affiliated with Northeastern were arrested.”

The arrests and encampments at Northeastern came amid ongoing protests over the Israel-Hamas war seen at colleges and universities across the country, and reports of antisemitic activity on college campuses across America.

Tuesday night, violence erupted at UCLA in Los Angeles, hours after police forced their way into Hamilton Hall on New York’s Columbia University campus and cleared the building that had been taken over by a pro-Palestinian group.

Last week, at Emerson College in Boston, more than 100 people were arrested and four officers were injured after police clashed with protesters and tore down an encampment protesting the Israel-Hamas war on Emerson’s campus.

Over in Medford, hundreds of Tufts University students are threatening to boycott the school’s upcoming commencement on May 19 amid pro-Palestinian protests on the Tufts campus.

In an open letter addressed to Tufts President Sunil Kumar, more than 250 members of the graduating class have pledged to boycott commencement if the university employs “police violence,” sweeps the encampment or arrests students.

With the ongoing protests and violent clashes on campuses, concerns have grown about reports of antisemitic activity on college campuses across America.

House Republicans this week launched an investigation into federal funding for universities amid the campus protests and reports of growing antisemitism on college and university campuses, The Associated Press reported.

“We will not allow antisemitism to thrive on campus, and we will hold these universities accountable for their failure to protect Jewish students on campus,” House Speaker Mike Johnson said at a news conference on Tuesday.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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