Fresh Take Florida
Police and state troopers arrested nine pro-Palestinian protesters late Monday who had occupied a campus plaza at the University of Florida for days. They were among the first college arrests in Florida involving national protests on campuses against Israel’s military campaign in Gaza.
University police Sgt. Courtney Marie Burgoyne said officers arrested nine protesters, who were led away in handcuffs. At least seven of the nine were current or former UF students, according to university records. One was facing a felony charge. It followed the arrest of three other protesters at the University of South Florida in Tampa hours earlier.
The administration at Florida’s flagship public university said in a statement the protesters had violated new rules announced last week that included “no disruptions” and a ban on camping, sleeping, bullhorns and tents — but it didn’t immediately say exactly what the protesters were accused of doing wrong. A spokesperson, Steve Orlando, declined Monday night to answer questions about the arrests.
“I do not have to tell you anything,” an unidentified campus police officer told a protester at the scene. About 30 protesters remained after the arrests. Some shouted “shame” and “Who do you protect?” at officers and troopers.
County jail and university records identified those arrested at UF as Tess Jaden Segal, 20, a sustainability major from Weston; Augustino Matthias Pulliam, 20, a former theater major from Jacksonville; Charly Keanu Pringle, 21, of Jacksonville; Parker Stanley Hovis, 26, a computer science major from Gainesville; Keely Nicole Gliwa, 23, a biochemistry and molecular biology major from Gainesville; Allan Hektor Frasheri, 20, a philosophy major from Largo; Roseanna Yashoda Bisram, 20, an engineering studies major from Ocala; Allison Marie Rooney, 23, of Valrico; and Mary Caitlin Boerboom, 24, a former philosophy major from Chesapeake, Virginia.
Frasheri was facing a felony battery charge accusing him of spitting in the face of a police officer. The others faced combinations of misdemeanor charges of trespassing, failing to obey police, resisting arrest or wearing a mask on public property.
Under the university’s new rules, students who violate them will be suspended, and employees or professors will be fired.
In a statement emailed to reporters 16 minutes after the arrests, Orlando said police gave the protesters “multiple warnings and multiple opportunities to comply” before they were arrested.
“This is not complicated: The University of Florida is not a and we do not treat protesters like children — they knew the rules, they broke the rules, and they’ll face the consequences,” Orlando said in the statement. “For many days, we have patiently told protesters — many of whom are outside agitators — that they were able to exercise their right to free speech and free assembly.”
The arrests occurred about 7:40 p.m. Monday on the school’s Plaza of the Americas, the centrally located square in the heart of campus. Law enforcement officers — including about 15 campus and municipal police officers and about six Florida Highway Patrol troopers — marched toward the plaza and protesters with batons in hand. No one was struck.
Police appeared to shut off power in the area during the arrests then restored it immediately afterward.
Last week was the last day of regularly scheduled classes for the semester. Some students are finishing final exams this week.
Sunday night, as police explained the university’s new rules to protesters, some of them criticized officers and compared them to members of the White supremacist group, the Ku Klux Klan and the Israeli Defense Force: “IDF, KKK, UFPD, you’re all the same,” protesters chanted as someone beat on a drum.
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Vivienne Serret reporting via Fresh Take Florida, a news service of the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications. The reporter can be reached at [email protected]. You can donate to support our students here.
10 comments
Dont Say FLA
April 30, 2024 at 11:42 am
Pro-Palestinean protesters are better termed Pro-Human-Rights protesters, but thanks for not calling them anti-Semtical radicals. That is appreciated.
Y’know even with the Mullahs in Iran, we can say we are anti-Iran-Government but support the Iranian people? And we are anti-Putin but got nothing at all against Russians. And we are anti-Xi-Jiping but we are fine with Chinese people. Yet when anybody criticize the actions of the government of Israel, they get slapped with the anti-semitical label, pronto. If you ask me, it’s Israel’s government that’s anti-semitical in how they hijack anti-semitism and diminish its meaning by hiding behind it while they commit ongoing atrocities against, yet again, there’s a government that got to no good, but the people should have everyone’s support, but all they get from Israel is shot and exploded and starved and stuff. Not support, not liberation from illegitimate Hamas that stayed in power after their term was up, same as Trump tried and will try try again, given the chance.
Ron Forrest Ron
April 30, 2024 at 11:47 am
“The University of Florida is not a and we do not treat protesters like children.”
First, UF is not a WHAT. A day care facility?
And Second, don’t you mean “unless they want to have some beer or work at the strip club, which in both cases we treat them like children. We have zero problem tear gassing them, rubber bulleting them, nightsticking them, tazing them, but in the name of all that’s good and holy and Jesus and USA, NO BEER and NO STRIPPERS. AND NO REAL FOOTBALL but shhhh that one’s not a law yet”
Drums Trigger Pigs
April 30, 2024 at 11:48 am
My name says everything that needs to be said about this except Oink Oink Oink I smell bacon. I can’t read!
rbruce
April 30, 2024 at 12:16 pm
My dead cigar smoking house dress wearing 5’4″ grandmother can take on the whole lot. If these rebels without a clue truly want to support those in Gaza, then go there and fight.
Dont Say FLA
April 30, 2024 at 12:49 pm
Supposing Donald ZZZzzzzz Trump worms his way back into the Oval Office in January 2025. His Presidential term would expire in January 2029.
But come 2049 when Supreme Leader Don Junior (who assumed his role as Supreme Leader in 2032 after The Donaldzzzzzzz choked to death attemmpting the Twelve Hamberders At Once Without A Drink TikTok Challenge which of course was algorithm-ed to the highest levels of viewership like nobody ever saw before in all of history by the Chinese Government in an attempt to assassinate Supreme Leader Donaldzzzzzz via self-asphyxiation) still hasn’t solved the US Southern Border “problem” and chooses to start using missiles and rockets and bombs and machine guns, are you gonna blame the average human in Trumplandia for that? Because that is the relationship between Hamas and your typical human in Gaza.
Ocean Joe
April 30, 2024 at 1:10 pm
I’d suggest they are more supportive of Hamas than that. They may have dreaded the Israeli response but they cheered the rockets at the start of all this. They spit on and tried to beat the hostages (old people, concert goers, children) as they were dragged back into Gaza.
They want independence, they want Israel gone, and Hamas has done what Fatah was too weak to accomplish. Sacrificing themselves, their children for the sake of their revolt has won them worldwide support, even among college kids here and all Americans who are watching all the death of innocents on TV.
But I have to ask, especially of those exercising their freedom of speech on campuses as we do here in the comments: what kind of world will Hamas create for the survivors?
Another military or religious dictatorship like the entire rest of the Arab world? I suspect my liberal friends know better.
Do your protesting here where you are free because in Gaza you’ll be thrown off the remaining rooftops.
Dont Say FLA
May 1, 2024 at 1:50 pm
What rooftopd in Gaza, OJ? What rooftops? There ain’t none left. Israel exploded all of them while supposedly looking for the bad guys.
rick whitaker
April 30, 2024 at 3:00 pm
RBRUCE, you sound like a sargent rock comic book character. i remember the slogan from the vietnam war, ” kill them all, god will sort them out later “. i didn’t like that sentiment then, and i don’t like your new version now. maga cultist would love your post.
What happen to americanism
April 30, 2024 at 9:40 pm
Tired of Soros. Sick old grudges man. Upside down 👎 for him
Monday news
April 30, 2024 at 9:41 pm
Let’s all go to jail for Soros yea 😂
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