Share and Follow
Emory University condemned anti-Israel “activists” who are “not members of our community” for disrupting campus on Thursday, as police responded to a massive crowd swarming the quad.
“Several dozen protesters trespassed into Emory University’s campus early Thursday morning and set up tents on the Quad,” Emory University said in a statement to Fox News. “These individuals are not members of our community. They are activists attempting to disrupt our university as our students finish classes and prepare for finals. Emory does not tolerate vandalism or other criminal activity on campus. The Emory Police Department ordered the group to leave and contacted Atlanta Police and Georgia State Patrol for assistance.”
Fox News crews on the ground estimated more than 100 protesters gathered on the Emory University quad. Protesters were seen holding signs that say “Emory: Cut all tires with Israel. End Gilee!”
Food, water, and other supplies have been set up at the protest site. A few protesters lead pro-Palestine chants, the crowds repeating them.
While authorities have not released numbers on how many people were detained or arrested during Thursday’s protests on campus, video shows the tense moments where officials can be seen using zip ties to detain people, tear gas, tasers, and the sound of rubber bullets being used to disperse the crowd. It appeared to be a mix of both anti-Israel demonstrators and “Stop Cop City” supporters – a slogan used in an ongoing effort to stop Atlanta Police from building the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center, a training facility for police and first responders scheduled to open later this year.
Last year, Atlanta police identified more than two dozen “Cop City” demonstrators brought up on domestic terrorism charges, and the Georgia attorney general warned protesters seeking to disrupt construction that authorities “will not back down from violent extremists from Georgia, Maine, Oregon or elsewhere who seek to stop us.”
In March, another two “Cop City” protesters climbed a construction crane in downtown Atlanta to hang a sign that read “Drop Cop City,” though the pair was hit with trespassing charges, FOX 5 Atlanta reported.
Anti-Israel agitators chant during a protest at Emory University on April 25, 2024, in Atlanta, Georgia. (ELIJAH NOUVELAGE/AFP via Getty Images)
Fox News Digital reached out to the Emory Police Department for comment about Thursday’s demonstrations but did not immediately hear back.
Fox News’ Chris Pandolfo, Claudia Kelly-Bazan and Samantha Daigle contributed to this report.
