New Orleans, LA – Around 2 a.m., May 1, police raided an encampment for Palestine. On Monday, Students for a Democratic Society at Tulane and Loyola organized the camp at Tulane University. Protesters demand that Tulane end all aid to Israel.

That Tuesday, the camp reached its peak at over 300 participants, with many more coming in and out. Musicians played drums and the keyboard, and protesters sang and danced throughout the day. They read literature, screened a documentary, shared meals, and prayed according to multiple faiths. Police displayed a mobile billboard reading “No trespassing” and played loud elevator music from speakers to try to intimidate and drown out the crowd.

Early Wednesday morning, protesters woke up to over 100 riot police from various agencies, including the Louisiana State Police Department. Police arrested over a dozen protesters. Officers then proceeded to line up across both sides of Saint Charles Ave, the street in front of Tulane. They began shoving protesters on the neutral ground and pushed several women directly in their breasts. For over an hour, they gave no dispersal order. The crowd was on public property, so protesters did not know what the police planned to do or where to safely leave. After a tense standoff, the remaining crowd retreated together around 4:30 a.m.

SDS and other organizations have asked supporters to make phone calls to the Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office to demand the protesters’ immediate release.

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