Police dismantle anti-Israeli vandal encampment at University of Pennsylvania
Some protesters chained themselves to a statue of Benjamin Franklin. Authorities arrested several people.
Philadelphia Police arrested several protesters on the University of Pennsylvania campus. This Friday morning, police officers began the dismantling of the camps of pro-Palestinian vandals at university facilities.
Videos posted on social media showed how police began to remove protesters from the university.
According to various media outlets, many of the vandals ran to escape while others chained themselves to a statue of Benjamin Franklin located in the university quad.
The police gave the protesters two minutes to vacate the scene. After making the announcement with a megaphone, the officers began the arrests. Likewise, some of the protesters were wearing turbans called kufia, a headscarf common in the Middle East and linked to the Palestinian cause.
The police carried out the arrests the after Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro described the situation at the university as "unstable" and "unacceptable."
"It is past time for the university to act, to address this, to disband the encampment and to restore order and safety on campus," Governor Shapiro said Thursday in statements reported by 6ABC