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CBS affiliate WFSB Eyewitness News 3 reported that 23 protestors were arrested on Tuesday, April 30 as UConn Police moved in to take down the encampment. They were charged with charged with disorderly conduct and criminal trespass.
According to Stephanie Reitz, spokeswoman for the university, on Friday, April 26, UConn shared guidelines with protest organizers and the university community for larger outdoor gatherings, including prohibited items and behavior.
It noted: "Such gatherings are of course permitted. However, safety, health, and basic community standards need to be recognized and maintained, both in the interest of those who are gathering as well as other community members who may be impacted."
Reitz said in the days that followed, some at the gathering violated those guidelines by erecting tents, numbered about 20 by Monday, April 29, and continued to use amplified sound.
"The group was warned multiple times over a period of days that while they were free to be in the space and exercise their free speech rights, the guidelines needed to be followed, and the tents needed to be taken down," Reitz said. "This was ignored."
She added that UConn Police directed them four times on Tuesday, April 30, in the morning to remove the tents and disperse, and they again repeatedly ignored the directives.
Officers then entered the site to remove the tents and tarps and to arrest those who refused compliance.
The protestors are receiving support from faculty members, other students, and a state senator.
State Sen. Saud Anwar, D-South Windsor, called on UConn's president, Radenka Maric, to protect students' rights: "Our First Amendment protects the right of Americans to peacefully speak freely without fear of government retaliation," Anwar said in a statement. "The charges against non-violent student protesters should be dropped and I hope UConn President Maric will protect her students' right to protest peacefully."
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