NEW HAVEN, Conn. — Yale students protesting the war in Gaza moved for a second time Monday evening to outside the Bass Library on the college campus after being dispersed from Beinecke Plaza earlier in the morning.
The intersection of Grove Street and College Street was reopened at 5 p.m. Monday after New Haven Mayor Justin Elicker announced traffic delays and detours as a result of protests in the area.
The New Haven Police Department said that around 6:40 a.m. Monday, protesters at Beinecke Plaza who "refused to leave" were charged by Yale officers with first-degree criminal trespassing. Elicker said that the protesters then gathered at the intersection at Grove Street and College Street at 8 a.m. until they were later cleared Monday evening.
A total of 48 people were arrested.
In a statement released after protesters cleared the intersection, Elicker noted that "people have a first amendment right to free speech and to protest, and New Haven has a long history of supporting people's ability to peacefully express their views."
Addressing safety concerns with the protest, Elicker said, "However, it's also important that protests are conducted in a safe and orderly manner - and in this situation, that Yale University students protest in a manner and place that is also respectful of New Haven residents."
Elicker continued, "Grove Street and College Street is one of New Haven’s busiest intersections, and it was important to have the area open and cleared in time for New Haveners’ evening rush hour commute and for first responders to be able to utilize those key corridors in responding to 9-1-1 emergencies across the city. I appreciate that the protest remained peaceful throughout the day and that the intersection was cleared prior to the evening commute voluntarily without incident or arrest."
The mayor recognized New Haven Police Chief Karl Jacobson and the police department for "exercising the highest degree of professionalism in their engagement with the Yale community" and working with student organizers to de-escalate and ensure peaceful and safe demonstrations during the protest.
A statement from Yale University said that they made several attempts to speak with and warn the students about the consequences, including that "The university made the decision to arrest those individuals who would not leave the Plaza with the safety and security of the entire Yale community in mind and to allow access to university facilities by all members of our community."
A Yale spokesperson said that some of the students arrested could also face disciplinary action, including but not limited to suspension.
A statement from the Connecticut Chapter of the Council on American Islamic Relations said, "We deplore the arrest of more than 47 students at Beinecke Plaza this morning who were engaged in a peaceful protest against Yale policies."
Jewish students on campus Monday said the protest made them feel unsafe.
"It's not that there aren't valid concerns here that need to be discussed, it's the way in which they're doing them is anti-Semitic and scary," said a student.
More than 60 Yale professors signed and sent a letter asking for a "leap of action," as "conditions will continue to deteriorate and calls for violence against Jews will worsen."
Ben Proto, chairman of the Connecticut Republican Party, said in a statement Monday evening that the party "will not be silent about what is taking place at Yale."
"To see college students at one of Connecticut and the world's top universities openly sympathizing with a terrorist group and committing acts of violence against Jewish students is disgraceful," Proto said. "Anyone who commits these violent acts must be criminally prosecuted. Free speech does not mean freedom to engage in violence against a particular group. These acts are hate crimes and should be treated as such by our justice system. In the wake of the horrific terror attacks on Oct. 7, the current hostages in Palestine, and acts of antisemitism across the country, all Americans must be united against terrorists."
Proto added that the "Connecticut Republicans stand with Israel and her allies in condemning these acts and demand action from the Yale administration and from Connecticut's criminal justice system."
Before Monday's protests, students began their encampment Friday night. Students built a 27-tent "Books, not Bombs" encampment outside a Board of Trustees dinner, occupying Beinecke Plaza while calling for military weapons divestment.
According to the university, no arrests were made that night, and the occupation continued into the weekend.
The "April Action" group Occupy Beinecke said that over 600 people had rallied Sunday night to protect over 40 tents that were outside the Beinecke Library on Yale University's campus. The group said in their statement that police only gave one warning, despite "prior communication" indicating there would be three, and that police also "refused to allow arrestees to collect medication and other necessities."
The students, part of the Occupy Beinecke group, launched the campaign to demand that the university's board of trustees disclose their investments in and divest from military weapons manufacturers. The protest was also in solidarity with recent protests at Columbia University.
"It's ludicrous that students are being charged with criminal trespassing for peacefully protesting on their own campus," said Yale law student Chisato Kimura in the Occupy Beinecke release.
RELATED: Israeli airstrike in southern Gaza city of Rafah kills at least 9 Palestinians, including 6 children
The Jewish Federation of Greater New Haven released a statement on social media over the weekend regarding the protest.
"Yale University has a responsibility to assure the safety of all of its students, including its Jewish Students.," the statement said. "Moreover, a lack of safety on Yale campus for Jewish students translates to an unsafe environment for Jews in New Haven. This situation has only gotten worse over the last several months and business as usual is not acceptable."
The dinner Friday night was "successfully shut down," according to Occupy Beinecke. The group also said in a release that about 75 students and community members slept overnight on the plaza.
According to the group's release, the weekend protest capped off a weeklong daytime occupation of the plaza, during which students posted educational programming ranging from faculty teach-ins to zine-making sessions.
The plaza has been the focus of protests in the past. The group cites a protest in April 1986 when shanties were built at the plaza in front of the Beinecke Library. Students defied orders to remove the shanties, and when Yale police stepped in, the students built them in front of the administration building and camped there. According to South Africa History Online, over 300 students were arrested during that term. Over 170 Yale faculty members had also signed a petition calling for divestment.
On Wednesday, Yale’s Advisory Committee on Investor Responsibility stated that it would not recommend divestment to the trustees because it had “concluded that military weapons manufacture for authorized sales did not meet the threshold of grave social injury, a prerequisite for divestment.”
The ACIR said the manufacturing “supports socially necessary uses, such as law enforcement and national security.”
The students responded by saying they “refused to accept a decision from a body with no decision-making authority” and that they would continue to occupy the plaza until trustees announced disclosure and divestment or publicly justified their failure to do so, according to the release.
“I am here because Palestinian life and all life is precious,” said Adam Nussbaum, a protester from the Yale Class of ’25, according to the release. “We know that the slaughter of 33,000 people in Gaza, including over 13,000 children, constitutes ‘grave social injury,’ even if the trustees have convinced themselves otherwise.”
Three student groups who were scheduled to perform at the ongoing trustee dinner canceled their performances in solidarity upon hearing of the encampment, the release said. It also notes that local businesses and community members donated food, including 30 pizzas, water, and other supplies.
This is a developing story.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
---
Jennifer Glatz is a digital content producer at FOX61 News. She can be reached at jglatz@fox61.com.
Dalton Zbierski is a digital content producer at FOX61 News. He can be reached at dzbierski@FOX61.com.
Julia LeBlanc is a reporter at FOX61 News. She can be reached at jleblanc@fox61.com Follow her on Facebook, X and Instagram.
Jake Garcia is a multimedia journalist for FOX61 News. He can be reached at jgarcia@fox61.com. Follow him on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
HERE ARE MORE WAYS TO GET FOX61 NEWS
Download the FOX61 News APP
iTunes: Click here to download
Google Play: Click here to download
Stream Live on ROKU: Add the channel from the ROKU store or by searching FOX61.
Steam Live on FIRE TV: Search ‘FOX61’ and click ‘Get’ to download.